


love like war

by lunarchoerry



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Crushes, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Romance, bc choerry deserves all the love, the girls fight to the death for choerry's affection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-01-29 14:41:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 27,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21411847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarchoerry/pseuds/lunarchoerry
Summary: hyejoo expects to have forever to confess her feelings to yerim. there's never been any urgency for her to say anything, and she's content to wait until the right moment.that is, until she finds out three of her other friends have a crush on yerim too. then it's a fight to the death for yerim's love.
Relationships: Choi Yerim | Choerry/Im Yeojin, Choi Yerim | Choerry/Kim Hyunjin, Choi Yerim | Choerry/Park Chaewon | Go Won, Choi Yerim | Choerry/Son Hyejoo | Olivia Hye, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 32
Kudos: 181





	1. like being bewitched

**Author's Note:**

> hi there! this is my first story for loona, written bc i love choerry v much and feel there isn't enough content for her lol. this is gonna be lighthearted and fun and i'm very excited!  
chapter title from colors by loona

“Have you ever been in love?” The question is asked quite airily for how invasive it is, but Hyejoo knows Yerim means it innocuously. She doesn’t mind.

Hyejoo leans back from her homework for a moment to consider the question before responding. It’s a tricky question, especially when asked by her best friend. “I can’t say I have,” she answers carefully, and directs her gaze back to her laptop. The pair are seated at a shaded picnic table outside the campus cafeteria, eating lunch after their morning classes. While Hyejoo is writing her latest essay, Yerim is simply watching the clouds to pass the time.

“Never?” Yerim presses, side-eyeing her best friend disbelievingly. “Even the girls you’ve dated?”

Hyejoo shrugs. “Love is a strong word with a lot of different contexts. I’ve loved a lot of people. I’ve been romantically interested in a few people. To me, though, falling in love is a lot different than anything I’ve felt.” She glances up again long enough to see Yerim’s nose wrinkle in dissatisfaction. “Sorry I don’t have a more romantic answer, I guess. I just don’t think falling in love happens until you find the person you want to spend your life with.”

Yerim sighs, pouting with mock hurt. “Are you saying you’ve never thought that about me? Not even once?”

Hyejoo can’t help the way her heart skips a beat, but she keeps her composure. “Have you ever fallen for me?”

“Of course!” Yerim nods, thumping her hand over her chest. “You’ve stolen my heart since the day we met.” She winks as Hyejoo laughs. “At this point, it’s yours to keep.”

“I’ll take good care of it,” Hyejoo promises quietly. She’s only playing along to Yerim’s joke, but the younger girl means every word she says.

The pair of them have been friends since middle school, having grown up in the same school system since Hyejoo’s family moved into Yerim’s neighborhood. The older girl made a point to try and make friends with Hyejoo, and her efforts persisted until the shy girl started looking forward to walking to school with Yerim. Quickly, they became near-inseparable. Hyejoo hadn’t had many friends before Yerim, and she certainly didn’t spend much time with them. But Yerim was different. Yerim made her _feel_ different.

They didn’t have a lot in common, but that didn’t stop them. Hyejoo taught the older girl how to play her favorite video games, and Yerim would play them together even though she wasn’t good at them; Yerim taught Hyejoo how to dance, and Hyejoo would help Yerim choreograph new routines; Hyejoo taught Yerim about the stars, using her parents’ telescope to show the older her favorite constellations. They would have campouts in the backyard on the nights their favorite constellations were most visible. When they weren’t stargazing, they would stay up all night playing video games (to Hyejoo’s parents’ dismay).

Once they graduated to high school, they drifted slightly as their interests changed. Hyejoo started playing video games competitively, starting her own channel to stream her gameplay online which she used to make some spending money. Yerim had stopped playing games as much as she’d no longer been able to keep up with Hyejoo, and she spent more time with the dance team she’d joined in her last year of middle school. But they always ended up finding each other again. Hyejoo hadn’t realized how much she’d missed the other, but she recognized the lonely hole in her heart being filled by Yerim’s presence. Yerim is the only one Hyejoo trusts all her darkest secrets with, and she knows Yerim, despite having so many friends, would never open up to anyone else like she has with Hyejoo. They’re best friends through and through, and nothing can change that.

As they make their university plans, they have decided to attend the same school. Hyejoo was glad they both wanted to stay together. She isn’t sure what would have happened if they split up again.

Hyejoo has been harboring deeper feelings for Yerim for quite a while. She can’t pinpoint exactly when it started, but she noticed it only recently. It felt so natural to fall for her best friend. Hyejoo almost never noticed it. She only realized something was up when she started seeing how close Yerim was to some of their other friends and sparks of jealousy started kicking up.

She understood those feelings weren’t normal, and she made the effort to reflect why she felt that way. At first she thought she was merely jealous that Yerim was giving attention to others, but she realized it was more than that. That’s how she had come to terms with her romantic feelings for her closest friend.

She’d freaked out or maybe a day, but it wasn’t anything entirely earth-shattering. She already knew she was gay and falling for Yerim made sense. If anything, she felt a bit at ease. It explained all the weird feelings she had, and Yerim was probably the one person she felt comfortable having a crush on. It only helped her jealousy slightly, though.

But despite figuring out her feelings and accepting them, she hadn’t confessed to Yerim yet. She felt okay taking her time and waiting for the right moment. Yerim deserved that, something perfect and romantic to sweep her off her feet, and Hyejoo wanted to make her confession good enough for Yerim. She didn’t feel rushed to make it happen, because Yerim would always be there. Although she’s popular and well-liked by their peers, Yerim hardly dated and didn’t express interest in dating. Hyejoo felt she could stand to wait.

“Hey,” Yerim says, waving a hand in front of Hyejoo and knocking her out of her thoughts. “You there?”

The younger girl nods, ducking her head to hide her blush. “Yeah of course. Just zoned out a little.” When she glances up again, she finds Yerim smiling fondly at her before they both look away.

They sit like that for a few minutes, but Yerim quickly grows bored of the silence. “Are you going to Hyunjin’s party this weekend?” Calling it a party is a bit of an exaggeration. It was really only supposed to be a movie night for their group of friends. Still, Hyejoo enjoyed spending time with the group.

“Yeah I should be free,” Hyejoo nods. “Are you going?”

Yerim pouts. “I’ve got way too much homework to even think of having fun. I hope you have fun though.”

“Don’t feel bad,” Hyejoo says, shrugging off her own disappointment. “We’re probably just going to get drunk and gossip.”

Yerim laughs, “What else do we do when we’re all together?”

\- - - -

Hyejoo hits the nail on the head; Hyunjin’s movie nights are always laidback.

Their main friend group is made up of twelve of them, but only five of them end up coming tonight. It’s for the best, though, as Hyunjin’s apartment is quite cramped.

Hyejoo is greeted by the party’s host as she’s let into the apartment. “Hey,” Hyunjin grins as she pulls Hyejoo inside. Her smile falters a bit when she notices the younger girl is alone. “Where’s Yerim?”

Hyejoo shakes her head. “Homework,” she explains and Hyunjin looks as disappointed as Hyejoo had felt earlier. “It’s probably for the best. She would have been too stressed to have fun if she didn’t get her project done.”

“I guess,” Hyunjin shrugs, then lets the smile return to her face. “That just means she owes us next time.”

Hyejoo met Hyunjin through Yerim, who met her though mutual friends on Yerim’s dance team. Hyunjin is known throughout their school as the best player on the women’s soccer team (probably the best soccer player in their school system period, but they won’t let her in an official match against the boys’ teams). She’s quite popular because of this, but she doesn’t have a big ego like the boys’ team’s players. She’s humble and sweet and just a little obsessed with cats. Hyejoo didn’t hang out with her one-on-one much, but she knows Yerim attends Hyunjin’s games quite regularly and the two spend a lot of time together.

“Drinks are in the kitchen, of course,” Hyunjin is saying, “and everyone else is waiting in the living room.”

“Okay,” Hyejoo nods, moving around her to walk into the kitchen. She decides to check what drinks Hyunjin has before going to join the others (access to alcohol is the best perk to having upperclassmen friends).In the kitchen, she runs into Yeojin trying to balance several wine coolers and beers in her arms. Hyejoo blanches. “Maybe you should slow down a bit?”

Yeojin pouts. “I gotta grab stuff for everyone,” she explains. Even at parties (or maybe especially?), the older girls bully her into doing their work.

Yeojin had been introduced to the group through Yerim. They’d met through the school’s dance club. Yerim volunteered to teach for the school, and Yeojin had been placed in one of her teams. Yeojin had idolized Yerim when they first met, the younger girl claiming she’d never met someone so good at dancing. Yeojin aspired to be a dancer on a team like Yerim. The more they talked, the less they were “Mentor Yerim and her protégé Yeojin” and the more they became casual friends. Yerim pulled Yeojin into their friend group, and in fact introduced more girls into their friend group (more because Haseul and her friends had to come take her home than because Yeojin wanted to introduce them). Now Yeojin acts like Yerim is another overbearing unnie, but Hyejoo knows she has a soft spot for her cheerful friend.

Hyejoo reaches for a beer that is slipping from Yeojin’s arms. “Let me help.” The younger girl gratefully lets Hyejoo take a few of the drinks she’s trying to balance. Hyejoo grabs her own drink as well before following Yeojin into the living room.

“Hyejoo!” A voice cheers when she enters the room. She glances over to find Chaewon grinning at her from the couch. The older girl is the only one in their friend group with skills in video games comparable to Hyejoo. The pair were very close friends because of their mutual love of video games, and Hyejoo considers Chaewon her best friend aside from Yerim. Chaewon has always been very sweet, but despite her innocent and unassuming appearance, she has a mischievous side that made her a bit unpredictable sometimes. Normally Hyejoo is her partner in crime, though, so they scheme together more often than scheme against each other. Lately, though, Chaewon seems to have that look in her eye that means she’s thinking of something, but she won’t share with Hyejoo what’s got her so puzzled.

Right now, though, the only look on her face is the red, buzzed glow on her cheeks as she points a finger at Hyejoo. “You’re _late_,” she laughs.

Hyejoo’s lip juts out in a slight pout at being called out. “I’m not the only one. Heejin-unnie isn’t here either.”

“We sent her on an alcohol run,” Yeojin quips as she sits down on the couch. She’s set the drinks on the coffee table in front of her and Chaewon, and Hyejoo sets down the bottles she’s holding too. She doesn’t answer Yeojin’s statement as she sits down in the armchair opposite of the couch.

But as if the mere mention of her name was enough to summon Heejin, they can hear the front door opening and Hyunjin talking to someone. After a few moments, Heejin rejoins the group.

“Unnie!” Chaewon grins when she sees the soju and liquor in the other girl’s hands. Heejin sets her stuff down among the spoils Yeojin and Hyejoo brought out. The older girl is Hyunjin’s roommate and best friend; the two were inseparable when Hyejoo first met them. Heejin played sports like Hyunjin, but lately her favorite hobby seems to be drawing. Without a doubt the most responsible one of the younger half of their friend group, she was often the one taking care of the other girls if anything happened (like the first time Yeojin got blackout drunk at a party without Haseul there to stop her. Although Heejin took care of her, she also never let Yeojin live it down). When the other girls get rowdy at parties, Hyejoo often finds herself hanging back with Heejin, and the two girls will talk and laugh at their friends until Yerim and Hyunjin drag them back into the fray.

Hyunjin also rejoins them in the living room. “Now the gang’s all here,” she starts, reaching for a beer and raising it in a _cheers_ motion. “How about we catch up on some Running Man?”

The group raises their own cans and glasses in agreement, and they settle into a comfortable atmosphere of laughing and drinking. Hanging out like this is always fun. Hyejoo prefers the quieter get-togethers with her closest friends. She wishes Yerim could be here too (she liked seeing Yerim get clingy and giggly when she got drunk enough) but she still has fun with the other girls.

After a few hours of variety show reruns, however, they get a bit bored and restless. They decide to play some games together, mostly ones involving the losers taking shots (they pour Yeojin baby shots as no one wants to risk seeing Haseul’s wrath by letting her get too drunk again). Everyone is fairly drunk (some much more than others), enough that there’s cheers when Chaewon suggests a few rounds of truth or dare. Inhibitions have long been lost and they’re all willing to make fools of themselves by accepting dumb dares. The game starts with Heejin daring Hyunjin to act like a cat until her next turn, and Hyejoo expects it to just be a game of laughs and ridiculous antics.

After a few rounds and plenty more shots of soju for everyone, it’s Chaewon’s turn to pick a victim. She picks Yeojin, asking the simple, “Truth or dare?”

Yeojin, probably recovering from being dared to lick the sole of her own shoe, chooses truth. Chaewon smiles her infamous, mischievous smile that only ever means trouble. “Tell us who your crush is, Yeojinnie.”

“Oof,” Hyejoo has to hide her laugh behind her hand. They could all tell when Yeojin has a puppy-crush, and they can all see that she currently has it _bad_ for some poor girl. They easily recognize the signs of it; when Yeojin likes someone, she can’t keep it a secret to save her life. Unlike the past few crushes, however, Yeojin won’t share the identity of her crush. Normally they could figure out who she had her sights set on, but this time she seemed determined to keep it a secret.

The youngest blinks owlishly at her challenger, clearly taken off guard as a blush creeps up her neck. “That’s not fair,” she says, looking to the others to back her up. She only receives amused looks prompting her to answer.

Chaewon shrugs. “We never set any rules.”

“She’s right,” Hyunjin nods, too serious for this childish game. “The only rule is you have to either answer the question or complete the dare.”

Yeojin’s face scrunches up in distaste. “Fine, then I pick dare.”

“I dare you to answer my question,” Chaewon says, “Who’s your crush?”

Yeojin is looking sort of helpless at this point, especially when the others press her to answer. She’s drunk enough that she’s especially prone to peer pressure, and Hyejoo can tell she’s easily wearing down. At the relentless pushing, she throws her head back against the couch with a groan. “_Alright_. It’s Yerim-unnie, okay? I like Yerim.”

For that moment, Hyejoo’s heart stops and the room goes ice cold. She’s immediately taken over by the chill, thinking she’s the only one affected by the abrupt change in mood. Any pleasant buzz she’s feeling from the alcohol instantly evaporates, and all she can feel is the empty pit in her stomach. _Fuck_, Yeojin likes Yerim too? The confession sobers her entirely.

Not noticing the sudden tension, Yeojin giggles, nervous and breathless. “Yeah I… I like Yerim. I’ve thought about it a lot, and I think I’m gonna tell her how I feel.”

Before Hyejoo’s heart has time to fully halt in panic, Hyunjin has launched herself across the small circle they’ve formed and thrown herself at Yeojin. They all jump in surprise at the sudden action. Yeojin looks at Hyunjin in surprise, taken aback by the urgency in her eyes. “Bad idea,” the older girl rasps. Swallowing down her impulse, her voice is stronger as she adds, “Don’t tell her. Don’t confess.”

“What? What's wrong with you?” Yeojin asks, frozen in confusion.

“I agree,” Chaewon speaks up, her former sly disposition lost as now she looks on nervously. “It’s kinda risky, don’t you think? Being friends is more important.”

“Yeah,” Hyunjin nods slowly, pulling back from Yeojin. “Yeah, she’s right. It’s risky.” Hyejoo looks at her, sees the guilt and nervousness on her face, and things start clicking together in the younger girl’s head.

They’re all sporting worried or concerned expressions to some degree. No one looks pleased to hear of Yeojin’s affections for the dancing vitamin of their group. A horrible realization settles in her gut.

“What are you talking about?” Yeojin asks, clearly unsure what to think of the others’ reactions. “I don’t think anything would happen to us if I told Yerim-unnie how I feel… She’s nicer than that.” Her eyes narrow suspiciously. “Why are you all looking at me like that?”

Hyunjin bites her lip, and the guilt seems to overtake her. “I-I… I like her too,” she mumbles, but it rings so loudly in the middle of the room. More shocked looks are thrown her way, but Hyejoo only feels dismay.

Heejin ends up being the one to say what Hyejoo is thinking. “Do… all of you like Yerimmie?” In one way or another, all the other girls end up confirming that unlikely truth in one way or another. Heejin huffs out a quiet laugh, the only one showing any sort of amusement. “Yerimmie is that charming, is she?”

“You can’t make fun of us, Unnie,” Chaewon snaps embarrassedly. “Do you like her too?”

“No, don’t worry,” Heejin raises her hands in surrender. Chaewon settles back, a distressed pout on her face.

“There’s a beat of silence before Yeojin speaks up again. “So… what do we do?” I don’t want to be unfair, but I won’t feel better until I say something to her.” Under her breath, she adds, “And I kinda called first dibs…”

Hyunjin’s expression wobbles in upset. “Should we tell her? Maybe… at the same time…?”

“No way,” Chaewon shakes her head vehemently. “Do you know how bad that’ll freak her out? She’ll probably think we’re all joking and get mad anyway.”

“Doesn’t she deserve to know, though?” Hyunjin looks as pained as Hyejoo feels.

It’s shocking, really. The odds of even two of them having feelings for the same friend in their group seemed unlikely, and yet here they are, all four of them falling for the same sweet, excitable dancer. It’s so unfair, and Hyejoo needs to find a way to keep them from ruining her own chances.

“I’ve got an idea,” she says loudly, too loudly, bringing all the attention to her. She gives them all steely looks, hiding her inner turmoil as best she can. “It’s not gonna be weird if we all confess one at a time to her, and it’s not going to work out for any of us if we all go to her at once.” They all gives their quiet nods of agreement. She sets her jaw, committing herself to this decision. “We should figure out who she likes best. We should get Yerim to confess first.”

“You mean,” Hyunjin starts hesitantly, thinking, “We have to woo her?”

Silence falls over the group as they all consider the suggestion. It’s stupid, _so unbelievingly stupid_, but Hyejoo has to jump on it. “We have to get her to confess.” It’s not a plan, it’s not smart, it’s just telling the others to flirt with Yerim to distract them (but no one knows just how oblivious Yerim is to flirting like Hyejoo does, so maybe no one knows how hopeless it is).

Heejin frowns at the girls considering the idea. “Doesn’t that seem a bit weird? How would Yerim react if she knew you’re all trying to bait her like that?”

Yeojin looks conflicted. “We shouldn’t do something she might misunderstand… If we all start flirting wouldn’t she get confused?”

“But we’re not acting like completely different people,” Chaewon says, though she doesn’t look entirely convinced either. “It’s just flirting.”

“Yeah,” Hyunjin says, rescuing Hyejoo’s hasty plan. “It’s more romantic than just trying to explain the situation, right? Yerimmie deserves to be swept off her feet.”

Hyejoo nods, swallowing thickly. Under any other circumstance, with any other group of girls, Yerim would love to be fought over by a bunch of girls wanting her attention. But she’d hate to know her friends were about to start a war over her.

And even though this plan (if it can even be called that), to “sweep Yerim off her feet” is stupid, the other girls all look like they’re genuinely agreeing to it. There’s only one girl who looks unconvinced, and though she’s not part of this plan, Hyejoo knows she can derail it entirely.

Heejin looks at them all skeptically, and the look she gives Hyejoo is suspicious enough to make the younger girl hold her breath. Maybe she’s projecting, but Heejin seems disapproving. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Yeojin shrugs, but she also looks a bit helpless about it. “It sounds like the only option besides giving up, right? Hyunjin is right. The only fair way is to let Yerim choose.”

“It’s decided,” Hyunjin interrupts, grabbing a bottle of soju and the shot glasses that are strewn about the table. She pours a few shots and hands them around. “Let’s talk more later, I just want to drink.”

“Shouldn’t we make some rules?” Chaewon says.

Hyunjin sighs, “Okay. We’re all in competition to win Yerim over. The winner is decided by whoever Yerim confesses to first. We can’t confess to her, and we’ll figure out the other rules later. Everyone good?” She looks around, catches reluctant nods from everyone. “Alright. It’s decided. Now drink.”

Everyone settles back in their seats and reaches for more drinks after taking the shots given to them. The tension doesn’t ease that easy, though. Hyejoo is still shaken by the revelation her and three of her closest friends all have crushes on the girl she sees as her soulmate. But she’s also likely the most reassured, being that she has the upper hand. She’s got a plan, and she’s going to make it work.

It’s all such a bad idea, but Hyejoo convinces herself that it’ll turn out okay.


	2. rules

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry this update took so long, it really shouldn't have but life got in the way :(  
loona's comeback inspired me to finish this tho~ i'm so happy for our girls!

The day after the party, Yeojin feels awful. 

She slept over at Hyunjin’s house with the other girls, so when everyone wakes up they decide to go out to a café to eat breakfast and talk. The awkwardness from the night before still hangs over them as they all sit around a big round table. Yeojin does her best to ignore it, nursing a hot chocolate as she attempts to ease her hangover. 

Hyunjin and Hyejoo sit across from Yeojin, both refusing to look anywhere but at their phones or coffee. The older of the two looks down defeatedly, but Hyejoo sports a frustrated pout that would look cute if Yeojin didn’t know what it meant. Chaewon and Heejin are sat on either side of the youngest, both with iced Americanos. Heejin is the only one who doesn’t look entirely miserable, and she ends up being the one to break the silence. 

“I think you guys should talk about what happened last night,” she says pointedly, specifically nudging Chaewon and Hyunjin. 

The soccer player blinks up at her, then nods. “Yeah. We still haven’t talked about the rules.” 

Heejin looks at her, a bit exasperated. “You’re really doing this?” she clarifies to all of them. “You’re all wooing Yerim?” It takes a moment for the other girls to respond, but in the end, everyone ends up nodding. Heejin takes a moment to process before she shrugs. “Fine, alright. Then I guess I have to make sure you all play fair. Let’s set some ground rules.” Yeojin feels her stomach twist in guilt, but she doesn’t do anything more than nervously shift in her seat. 

“That’s a good idea,” Chaewon agrees, her voice quiet. “Okay, Heejin-unnie is our referee, so she’ll be checking in with us, and maybe Yerim as long as she doesn’t give anything away. Since we can’t outright confess, all we can do is flirt. It’s okay to go on dates with Yerim, but you aren’t successful until you get her to confess she likes you. All we’re doing is trying to get Yerim to fall for one of us, okay?” 

“What happens if we confess anyway?” Yeojin mumbles. “What’s gonna stop one of us from breaking the rules?” 

“If you confess to Yerim before she confesses to you and we find out,” Hyejoo starts suddenly, her eyes cold. “We’ll make you break up with her.” 

A slight chill sweeps over the group momentarily, and Yeojin can’t help the little shiver that goes down her back at Hyejoo’s glare. This is… a bit too serious. But she supposes Hyejoo’s always been serious when it comes to Yerim. They are best friends, after all. 

Yeojin pauses. 

Does that make it more or less likely that Yerim would like Hyejoo back? 

She shakes her head, tries to force that thought away. She’s thinking too much if she starts considering the other girls’ chances at charming Yerim. This whole situation is too surreal for her to think that deep about it. 

Besides, in all honesty, if Yerim and Hyejoo still aren’t dating by this point, Hyejoo probably has no chance. 

But that’s beside the point. 

“Okay,” she says, and the question is dropped. 

“Is there anything else ‘off limits’?” Hyunjin asks, looking a bit annoyed. 

“Yeah,” Yeojin adds. “We can’t tell Yerim-unnie about anyone else’s crushes.” 

“Oh, that’s a good one,” Chaewon agrees, “No one can out each other. If anyone does, then the person they outed gets to out you too.” 

“Yikes,” Hyunjin mutters. 

“This is getting cutthroat,” Heejin teases. “Don’t get too competitive. Yerim doesn’t like seeing her friends fight, remember? Keep her feelings in mind.” 

Yeojin can’t imagine getting that upset about this whole ordeal, but she’s also having a hard time processing that it’s really happening. 

It’s difficult to wrap her head around that her closest friends all have a crush on the same girl she’s been pining after. Yeojin had watched Hyunjin and Chaewon flirt with other girls enough to think neither of them had crushes. Conversely, Hyejoo brushed off _everyone_ in a way that made it seem like she wasn’t interested in anyone. And yet all along, they’d all been too nervous to ask out the one girl they all liked. 

Amazing. 

There’s silence for a bit, and Yeojin waits for someone to add anything before quietly slipping her wallet into her bag. “So… are we done?” 

Chaewon gives her a weird look. “Got somewhere to be?” 

Yeojin swallows nervously before answering as coolly as possible, “I have a dance practice with Yerim-unnie.” 

Hyunjin frown, Hyejoo _scowls_, and Chaewon grins. “Trying to get ahead before the game even starts, huh?” 

“N-no,” Yeojin stutters. “We already had plans!” Never mind the fact that Yeojin _had_ been planning to confess to Yerim today before everything that happened last night. 

“Then you won’t mind if we tag along,” Hyunjin says, eyes daring Yeojin to challenge her. Yeojin deflates, shakes her head. 

“It really will be just her teaching me dances, though,” she mumbles, but it’s too late. Hyejoo and Hyunjin are both already preparing to leave. 

Yeojin sighs, defeated. She does need the practice, so it sucks that the others are now inviting themselves along. There’s nothing she can do about it now, though, as all of them are too stubborn to back down. 

So all Yeojin can do is lead the group to the dance studio Yerim works at. Yeojin brings them into the elevator to one of the higher floors, past the main office, and into the studio itself so she can warm up while they wait. She’s been there quite a few times, as have Hyejoo and Heejin, but Hyunjin and Chaewon take some time to look around. 

“This place is really nice,” Hyunjin comments, marveling at the light wood floors and the wall of windows facing the city. The room is painted white, which makes the room seem bigger. There are some large, expensive-looking speakers hooked into the walls, and even a TV set into the wall opposite of the mirrored side. “Did Yerim rent this place out?” 

“Her dance team does,” Yeojin answers. “They make a lot of money at competitions, so they rent a few rooms here full-time.” 

“Woah,” Hyunjin mutters. In the mirror, Yeojin watches Heejin roll her eyes. 

Okay… weird. 

Yeojin is just finishing her stretches when Yerim breezes through the door, huffing out breathless apologies in her rush. The youngest hates how her heart flutters just seeing Yerim, even when she’s red-cheeked from the wind and out of breath. She’s so, so pretty, it’s just not fair. 

“Yeojinnie, sorry I’m late!” She stops short, blinking owlishly at the other girls in the room before smiling. “Oh, you brought everyone?” 

“They wanted to tag along…” she replies sheepishly. 

“Yeojin said you’re working on a new choreography together,” Chaewon says, smiling sweetly at the dancer. ‘We really wanted to see it.” 

“Okay!” Yerim beams. She sets her stuff down and bounces over to Yeojin in front of the mirror. Her smile is so bright it’s nearly blinding. “Do you wanna show them what we’ve worked on so far?” Yeojin doesn’t think about it, she just nods and gets into place. Yerim sets up the music, and then they start dancing. 

Yerim is high energy, putting her all into every performance she gives. Even when it’s just her and Yeojin practicing, the other dancer gives one-hundred and ten percent into it. Her energy is infectious, and Yeojin does her best to match it. They dance in-sync to the bright and bubbly pop song, though Yerim’s movements are just a bit sharper and more precise. It’s a sign of professionalism and hundreds of hours of practice, and Yeojin admires her so much for it. 

They haven’t yet choreographed the full song, so Yeojin sort of teeters off when they reach the end of what Yerim has taught her, but Yerim gives the last move extra flourish with a laugh. The other girls applaud, Hyunjin even getting up for a standing ovation. She’s got stars in her eyes, and Yeojin can’t help but pout at the way Yerim beams. 

Her sour mood quickly melts away as Yerim says, “Isn’t Yeojinnie doing so good? I’m so proud of how she’s improved,” her hand falls to the youngest’s shoulder, and Yeojin does her best not to blush. 

“Guess that means you’re a really good teacher,” Chaewon remarks. 

“She’s the best teacher,” the youngest confirms quickly. 

The dancer shrugs, winking at Yeojin. “It’s easy to be a good teacher with a good student.” Yeojin’s heart beats hard. 

“I had no idea you’re so good at dancing, Yerimmie,” Hyunjin says. “And your choreography is so cool!” 

“She is a professional,” Hyejoo says. “You’d know if you’d ever come to her performances.” 

The way Hyunjin tenses up is so noticeable that even Yeojin clearly sees it. “You know I’ve always got games to go to,” she mumbles, a little guiltily. Hyejoo shrugs. 

“It’s okay!” Yerim reassures. “I know the sports teams are always busy.” She smiles again, but there’s still some weird awkwardness between the trio that no one else seems to understand. Yeojin is tempted to pry, but now isn’t the best time. 

“Can we work on the choreo some more?” she asks, interrupting. 

“I want to learn too,” Heejin says, speaking up for the first time. 

“Yerimmie can teach us all to dance!” Chaewon declares and drags an unwilling Hyejoo with her over to the mirror. 

This dance practice was doomed from the moment the other girls decided to hijack it. 

They don’t end up going over any new choreography, as Yerim has Yeojin help her teach everyone what they’ve already gone over. Heejin is easily the best at grasping the choreography, enough that Yeojin wonders if she’s danced before. Hyejoo is okay, but Yerim has probably taught her before. Chaewon and Hyunjin, however, clearly don’t dance. In Chaewon’s case, at least she’s having fun, but Hyunjin is struggling and Yeojin can’t help but push. 

“You’re being too stiff, Unnie,” Yeojin says, shaking her head at Hyunjin. The soccer player huffs, shooting her a sharp glare. 

“It’s okay,” Yerim says. She steps beside Hyunjin, settling a hand on her shoulder. “Relax a bit here, and move your arm move sharply for this move. If you’re too lax then it looks like you’re flailing.” Her hand trails over to the soccer player’s back when Hyunjin tries the move again. “Shoulders back,” 

“G-got it,” Hyunjin mumbles, her face turning red. She tries again and Yerim gives her a thumbs up. 

And then Hyunjin keeps messing up just enough for Yerim to come personally guide her. The other girls silently fume watching them, but no one else is shameless enough to follow Hyunjin’s example. Even when Chaewon stumbles on a step, Yerim asks Yeojin to help her learn the step. And that seems to increase the tension between the other girls as Yerim continues helping Hyunjin. 

Before anyone can snap, however, Yerim pulls away from Hyunjin. “Okay, does everyone have the steps?” The girls nod, half of them confident and the other half not so much. “Why don’t we try it altogether? Yeojinnie, you can lead.” 

The youngest nods and steps in front of the other girls. Yerim goes over to the stereo and starts the song. Yeojin lets the beat of the song take over and she dances to Yerim’s choreography. It’s almost second-nature at this point, and she keeps her moves more relaxed so the other girls can keep up. Any other time she’d take the opportunity to show off in front of Yerim, but she knows the dancer isn’t watching her now. 

Yeojin does take the time to watch how the others follow along. Hyunjin has significantly improved thanks to Yerim’s personal help, but even Chaewon seems to have grasped the choreography better. Despite herself, Yeojin can’t help but smile. It feels good to know she was able to teach her friends the choreo, and they look like they’re having fun. They don’t look like professionals by any means, but they’re following along and having fun. Yerim is sunshine personified as she beams eagerly at them all. The sight of her so happy makes Yeojin’s heart flutter. 

Once they finish the choreographed part of the song, Yerim excited bounces over and gives them all high-fives. “That was so good! Especially Heejin-unnie, are you secretly a dancer?” 

Heejin laughs. “I used to dance when I was younger, nothing serious.” 

“Maybe you should think about joining the school’s dance team,” Yerim suggests, giving her a cheeky grin. Heejin only shakes her head with a smile. “Aw, too bad. We’d love to have you in the club.” 

“I’m busy with my own club,” the older girl points out. “I’m sure you and Yeojin cause enough chaos on your own.” 

“We have a lot of fun,” Yerim agrees, turning her shining smile on the youngest. Yeojin just smiles back shyly, trying to keep down the blush threatening to warm her cheeks. 

Hyunjin interrupts, “M-maybe I should join,” she stammers, uncharacteristically unconfident. She gets a few surprised looks thrown her way, and she nervously holds her ground. “Um, this was fun, and maybe I’d like to do it again?” 

“Aren’t you too busy with soccer?” Chaewon points out. “You can’t even come to Yerim’s and Yeojin’s performances.” 

Hyunjin shies back embarrassedly, and Yerim is quick to reassure her. “But you could come back here and I’ll teach you some more choreo! Everyone is welcome,” she looks to the others for some form of support, and of course everyone agrees. Relieved, she adds, “Yeojinnie and I will make you all amazing dancers,” then she directs a wink specifically at Yeojin, and god, the youngest isn’t sure her heart can keep up. 

When she breaks eye contact with the dancer, Yeojin sees Hyejoo watching the exchange with a frown. Finally, she speaks up. “Do you still need to practice with Yeojin?” 

Yerim blinks, “Oh, _oh_, Yeojin, I’m so sorry,” she frantically looks at her watch on her wrist, frowning. “We spent a lot more time on that than I thought… I don’t think I have time to practice everything I wanted to show you.” She looks up apologetically. 

“It’s okay,” Yeojin reassures, though she is disappointed. “We’ll go over it next time. I still had fun today.” She gives a quick thumbs up. 

“I’ll clear out a whole day for it,” she promises. “We can go over a little bit now if you want?” 

“Are you busy today, Yerimmie?” Chaewon asks. 

The dancer shrugs, a small smile pulling at her lips. “I’m meeting with Jinsol-unnie soon,” she admits. “I’m staying over at her apartment, so I do need to get home to get ready.” 

Yeojin hums in understanding. “I won’t keep you longer if you need to go, Unnie. We’ll do this when you aren’t busy.” 

“If you’re sure,” Yerim says, and Yeojin nods. “Okay, well, let me know when you’re free to spend all day on our choreo, and I’ll make it happen!” 

Before she can say anything else, Chaewon reaches out to carefully grab the dancer by the wrist. “Yerimmie, I’ve been meaning to ask, but would you want to meet up some time this week? I feel like it’s been forever since we’ve been able to hang out.” 

It’s such a bold and surprising move, the other girls are all shocked into silence. No one can protest or insert themselves. But of course, Yerim doesn’t notice. “Definitely! Um, would you be okay if we got coffee after class?” 

Chaewon beams. “Of course. How does Monday sound?” 

“Sounds like a plan,” And before anyone can come back to their senses, Yerim hugs them all goodbye, gathers her stuff, hugs them again, and then she’s quickly rushing out the door. Yeojin has a mind to run after her, but she stays still and just watches her go. 

Hyejoo glares sharply at Chaewon, who gives her an unimpressed look. “What? All I did was make my move. If you’d said something, maybe it would’ve been you.” 

“You won’t get away with this,” Hyunjin snaps like she’s talking to some kind of Scooby-Doo villain, jabbing a finger towards Chaewon accusingly. 

Heejin rolls her eyes. “You’ll all get a chance, okay? Don’t be mad that Chaewon got her date first.” 

“It’s not a date,” Hyejoo mutters, turning and following Yerim out of the practice room. 

Hyunjin fumes for another moment before clenching her hands into tight fists. “It’s on now,” she promises lowly, and also storms out. 

Yeojin sighs. Already she can tell this is going to be messy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> chaewon scores the first "date" with yerim! i wonder how that'll go for them?  
thank you to anyone reading this, i'll try my best to update soon! please let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions :)


	3. taking the starting point

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> didn't get this one done as soon as i wanted to, but it's an improvement :')  
gowon takes the first "date" with choerry! i'm glad to have finally written some attempted romance for this story~ hope you enjoy!  
chapter title from red sun by dreamcatcher

Before school on Monday morning, Chaewon wakes up early in order to get ready. She showers, picks out her favorite bow to wear with her uniform, and curls her hair. She isn’t allowed to wear makeup at school, so she decides she can sneak away during last period to apply it. She packs her makeup bag into her backpack. This outing with Yerim may have been planned under the guise of just hanging out, but that doesn’t mean Chaewon isn’t going to take full advantage of what she’s got.

After perfecting her look, she packs her backpack, eats breakfast, and heads out the door to walk to school.

She’s optimistic through most of the school day even without seeing Yerim at all, but it’s around lunchtime that one of the other girls begin their sad attempts at sabotage.

Hyunjin is sitting across from her at their lunch table, picking idly at her tray as she carefully says, “Yerimmie seems down today.” Beside her, Heejin looks at her strangely.

Chaewon takes her seriously at first. “Oh? Is everything okay?”

The soccer player shrugs, the motion strangely exaggerated and stiff. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen her look so tired.”

“Does she seem sad or just tired?” Chaewon asks, frowning in concern. Yerim must be feeling really bad if it’s obvious something is wrong.

“Uh, I didn’t have time to ask her,” Hyunjin says, refusing to meet Chaewon’s eyes as she puts on a worried pout. “Maybe you should cancel your coffee trip and just let her go home.”

_Sneaky_ . She knew the other girls would try to keep the date from happening, but she didn’t think Hyunjin would try such a lame attempt. The younger girl rolls her eyes. “If she’s tired, then a coffee date should cheer her up, right?” She smiles sweetly as the other girl’s concern melts into annoyance. “I won’t cancel unless she asks me to.” Hyunjin’s frown deepens, and she focuses hard on dipping her spoonful of rice into her broth.

If Chaewon was honest, she’d admit that Hyunjin’s crush on Yerim surprised her most of anyone else’s. Hyunjin has a lot going for her. She’s one of the most popular girls in school, star of the soccer team, and has the confidence to tear the whole school down. Yerim has always looked up to Hyunjin so much, and they’ve all noticed how animated Yerim gets when she describes Hyunjin’s games. But while they’re friends, Hyunjin never gave Yerim much attention. Yerim would ask for Hyunjin to teach her soccer all the time, even offering to give Hyunjin dance lessons, and Hyunjin would always turn her down. They hardly hung out one-on-one no matter how many times Yerim had tried, which Chaewon only knew because of how much Yerim had moped about it, and really all Hyunjin had ever done was push Yerim away.

Chaewon can’t understand how Hyunjin could like Yerim so much and still pass up on all that attention. She could have had Yerim wrapped around her finger long ago, and so far she’s let the opportunity slip. Chaewon thinks that might put Hyunjin at the biggest disadvantage.

“Just,” Hyunjin waves a hand in frustration. “Does it have to be a one-on-one trip? I don’t think we can trust you on your own.”

“You’ll get your turn too, I’m sure,” Chaewon reassures, if only to get Hyunjin to settle down. She doesn’t intend on _giving_ Hyunjin that chance, of course, but she knows the other girls won’t play nice. She turns to Heejin. “Have you talked to Hyejoo?”

“Not since Saturday. I think she’s giving us the cold shoulder since we started this dumb game,” she says flippantly.

“It’s not a game,” Hyunjin mumbles.

Heejin rolls her eyes. “It kind of is. You guys even made rules that _I_ have to enforce.” That earns her a sharp glare from her best friend, but Hyunjin doesn’t say anything to refute it.

The mood has suddenly gone very tense between them, and Chaewon can’t help but feel like she’s missing something. She tries to ease the tension by giving a slight smile. “Don’t worry so much. It’s not like we’re doing anything to hurt anyone.” Heejin’s lips press together tightly, but she also keeps any reply to herself. The rest of lunch is spent in awkward quiet, and Chaewon can’t wait to get away.

The rest of Chaewon’s classes seem to drag on as slowly as possible. As composed as she tries to be, she feels like a fool in love. She can’t concentrate on anything but Yerim, and her mind continues to wander over to her plans for today. She wants to take Yerim to a new café, somewhere cute and romantic and where the other girls wouldn’t expect them to be. Chaewon found a pretty flower-themed café that isn’t too far from her house, and she thought it was perfect. One of her favorite moments with her and Yerim involved flowers, and this seemed too fitting for their date. Near the café is a park and a small arcade, and Chaewon knows there’s enough around for the two of them to spend a lot of quality time together.

It’s rare for Chaewon to get time alone with Yerim. They had met through mutual friends in their group and while they’ve always been friendly, it wasn’t often that they had opportunities to see each other without their friends being there. Yerim and Chaewon have some similar interests, but those interests are shared with other friends like Hyejoo. Chaewon is determined now to change that.

About fifteen minutes until her last period ends, Chaewon sneaks out. She brings her bag into the bathroom to do her makeup, keeping her look subtle. She only wants to enhance her natural beauty; a full face of makeup isn’t needed for an after-school date. She ensures her uniform is straightened out, that her hair is neat, and everything is in place. She looks cute, irresistibly so. If she was going after anyone but Yerim, she’d have them instantly wrapped around her finger with just a pout. Unfortunately, Yerim is just as cute, which somehow works to null Chaewon’s effect.

The final school bell rings, indicating the end of classes, and Chaewon packs up her stuff to go wait for Yerim at the gate. It doesn’t take long for Yerim to join her, smiling brightly as she makes eye contact with Chaewon.

“Hi Unnie,” Yerim greets. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, I thought we’d go somewhere special today,” Chaewon nods. Yerim nods, and the older leads them to the station.

They make small talk on the way to the café, talking about how classes today went and how their day has been. Yerim is warm and bright, and very much a welcome sight after the school day. Chaewon may be the older, but Yerim has always been the one to make Chaewon feel cared for. Yerim is sweet and attentive, perceptive to when her friends need comfort. Chaewon knows she isn’t the only one Yerim takes care of, but when the other girl pulls her in close and looks at her with that gaze that makes her feel like she’s the center of Yerim’s world, she feels special. Selfishly, she wants to take that affection for herself.

When they reach their stop, Chaewon leads them out of the station and to the street. Yerim follows closely, quickly observing their surroundings. “So where are we going?”

“I found a cute café I really want to try,” Chaewon answers. They walk for a bit, long enough that Chaewon is afraid they’ve passed it already, but her fears are immediately allayed as they round the corner. She doesn’t even need to read the sign to know they’ve found it, the French townhouse-style building shrouded in pretty, pale pink roses. Flowers of various colors and types overwhelm the outside of the building, pushed into corners and archways, laid out on little wooden folding tables, displayed in vases and crates. It’s so busy with color that Chaewon would struggle to locate the door if it wasn’t for the spray of white flowers forming an arch over the entrance.

It’s bright and colorful, and yet still can’t compare to the way Yerim lights up when she sees it. “It’s so pretty,” she gasps. “I’ve never seen a café like this before. Wait—Unnie, will you take my picture?” Chaewon is hardly in the position to say no to Yerim today, and she takes the other girl’s phone to snap a photo of her among the pretty scenery. Yerim bounces over to check the photo, thanking Chaewon.

She walks over to the displays, eyes shining at the unique arrangements for sale. The tables seem to be color-coded, and Yerim is looking admiringly at the arrangements of sapphire plumerias and pale blue and white roses. Her eyes are soft, hands slow and gentle as she brushes the individual petals with her fingers. It’s so _sweet_, and the other girl can’t help the way her heart melts a little. Flowers seem to bring out a gentler side of Yerim, something delicate that Chaewon has only ever seen once before.

Yerim is so unfathomably pretty in that moment.

Chaewon glances at another set of arrangements, including sprays of lavender heather, orchids, lilac, and other purple flowers. They’d look so pretty in Yerim’s hair, she thinks, or pinned to her uniform or even just held in her hands.

“Yerimmie,” she says, making a sudden decision. “Do you like any of these? I’ll buy you a bouquet.”

The younger girl looks taken aback. “Oh, it’s okay Unnie, you don’t need to buy me anything. I like just looking.” Yerim shakes her head, but there’s something in her eyes that seems to hesitate. She still hasn’t let go of the hydrangeas.

She doesn’t want Chaewon to go out of her way to buy her something, but Chaewon can tell Yerim really wants the flowers.

“If you don’t pick your favorite then I’ll choose one for you,” Chaewon tells her. She won’t take no for an answer.

On her part, Yerim seems to recognize this. Sheepishly, she walks over to look at the purple bouquets. “I like these,” she says, pointing at the heathers.

Chaewon looks at the different arrangements carefully. She picks one up that has the heather, along with pale lavender lilies. “What about this one?”

Yerim smiles, suddenly shy. “It’s beautiful. You really don’t need to get it for me though.”

“I want to,” Chaewon says. She glances briefly at the little chalkboard propped against the table with the bouquet prices. They aren’t cheap, but it doesn’t really matter. It’s within her weekly spending limit. And it’s worth it to see that bashful, happy look on the other girl’s face. “Come on, let’s go see the inside.”

The girls walk up a flight of stairs to the second floor, where the café is located. The view is breathtaking, bunches of dried flowers hang from the ceiling, still giving off a soft fragrance. Tendrils of flowers curl into swirling patterns on the white walls, circling the café logo on the back wall of the seating area. The tables and chairs match the wooden folding tables outside. The large, black-framed windows allow soft sunlight to illuminate the entire room.

As Yerim _oohs_ and _ahhs_ at the beautiful scenery, Chaewon gives herself a mental pat on the back. It’s a perfect first date spot (even if Yerim doesn’t know they’re on a date).

The girls go and order their coffee, and Chaewon pays for both their drinks and for the bouquet. Yerim protests, but Chaewon waves her off and hands the bouquet back to her. She holds the bouquet so gently, close to her chest with both hands. She doesn’t set it down, even when they sit at the table.

Yerim picks a spot by the windows, and again Chaewon admires how pretty she looks, standing out even against the stunning backdrop of the café.

It’s suddenly difficult for Chaewon to swallow down her feelings for the other girl.

“Sit next to me so we can take some selcas,” Yerim says excitedly, and Chaewon obliges. Yerim winds an arm around Chaewon to pull her in close for a photo, and the older girl holds her composure as she feels warmth at the other’s touch. Yerim’s the only one who can cause butterflies to flutter around her stomach with such a simple gesture.

They take a few photos, some serious and some silly, and by the time they finish, their server comes back over to deliver their iced coffees. It’s only then that Yerim puts down the flowers, very carefully setting it down on the tabletop.

“I’m really glad you could come here with me,” Chaewon says. “I was really excited about this place, and I’m happy we get to experience it together.”

Yerim nods. “Thanks for asking me to go! I feel like it’s been so long since we got to hang out. I’ve been so busy that I don’t see anyone much outside of school and my dance practices.”

“Did you have practice with Jinsoul-unnie this weekend?” Chaewon asks.

“It wasn’t supposed to be, but Jungeun-unnie joined us and we ended up practicing our routines.” Her smile turns a bit strained as she shrugs. “I was hoping to relax, but Unnie had other plans.”

Chaewon frowns sympathetically. “I’m sure they didn’t know how busy you are. Next time you’re free, let me know and I’ll plan something special for us.”

“That sounds really fun,” Yerim agrees. “I’ll take you up on that.”

They continue to talk as they enjoy the coffee and the atmosphere. Yerim leads the conversation by telling stories from her weekend, and Chaewon watches Yerim more than she listens, too distracted by how animated and excitable she gets recalling their unnies’ antics. That’s one thing she’s always admired about Yerim, her infectious energy.

Her endearment must show on her face too much though, as Yerim falters and blushes, suddenly sheepish. “Ah… sorry, am I talking too much?”

“Not at all!” Chaewon quickly reassures, shaking her head. “I’m sorry, it’s just… The way you tell stories is so cute, I can’t help but pay more attention to you.”

Yerim draws back, so shy as her blush darkens, and Chaewon’s heart is beating hard in her chest. She reaches forward, carefully taking Yerim’s hand in her own and giving it a light squeeze. Affection is bursting from her chest and her true feelings threaten to spill from her throat. “You’re really special, you know that?”

The younger girl looks like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck, staring at Chaewon uncomprehendingly. She opens her mouth, likely trying to come up with some sort of response, when her attention abruptly shifts to something over Chaewon’s shoulder, and a different sort of surprise crosses her face.

“H-Hyejoo!” Yerim stammers out in greeting, and Chaewon turns in time to see the other girl walking up to their table. Their eyes meet, and both send each other sharp glares, Chaewon clearly expressing her displeasure at the other’s sudden appearance and Hyejoo letting her know she doesn’t approve of the position she’s found them in.

“What a coincidence,” Chaewon says, forcing her posture to relax. She moves so her and Yerim’s held hands rest on the tabletop for Hyejoo to see. On her part, the other doesn’t outwardly react. “How’d you find us here?”

“Yerim posted a photo of the café on her Instagram, and I was close by so I thought I’d see if I could catch up with you.” Hyejoo answers smoothly. Chaewon mentally curses. She didn’t think of that when she’d taken Yerim’s photo outside earlier.

“You can sit down with us,” Yerim says, gesturing to the seats across the table. Chaewon can do nothing to protest as Hyejoo sits down.

And it’s then that Chaewon has lost whatever momentum she’d gained as Hyejoo easily takes away Yerim’s attention. The two quickly fall into easy conversation, more comfortable and natural than with Chaewon. And it makes sense, they are best friends and should be more comfortable with each other than anyone else, but it still stings.

Yerim doesn’t remove her hand from Chaewon’s, however. Their hands remain loosely clasped, resting casually on the tabletop like it’s the most normal thing in the world. And try as she might to ignore it, Hyejoo is definitely bothered by it.

That’s good enough for today, Chaewon thinks.

She gets pulled into the conversation soon enough, and it turns into something mimicking their usual banter. There’s tension between them (especially between Hyejoo and Chaewon) that keeps it from feeling normal, and Chaewon can’t say she’s surprised. Hyejoo keeps shutting down conversations when Chaewon gets too involved, and it’s honestly just annoying.

“Are there any other places you want to visit, Unnie?” Yerim asks, trying at another topic.

“I have a few things in mind,” Chaewon says. “But I’ll save those for another day. Today was really fun.”

The other girl beams at her. “Yeah, it was. Let me know if you want to do something like this again.” Warmth spreads through Chaewon’s chest at that, and it shows in her returning smile.

But of course, Hyejoo and her jealousy have to ruin the moment. “Aren’t you always busy?” she says, just short of snapping at Yerim. Her best friend throws her a shocked look, and Hyejoo softens. “I mean, wouldn’t it be better to get work done?”

Yerim still only gapes in surprise, seemingly unable to find a reply. “Are you really one to talk?” Chaewon defends when it’s clear Yerim isn’t going to say anything. She gives Yerim a meaningful look. “It’s okay to take a break sometimes. Yerimmie, I’ll let you know next time I have time to go out.”

“Okay,” Yerim nods, voice surprisingly quiet even as she pushes a smile back on her face. Hyejoo deflates guiltily.

Chaewon can tell Yerim is getting uncomfortable the longer they sit there. At this point her plans are over, so she decides to wrap things up. “I’ve got a bit of homework to get done tonight, I think I should head home.”

Somehow Yerim looks both relieved and disappointed. “Yeah… I’ve got stuff too.” The older girl doesn’t understand what the pout on Yerim’s face means, but she gives her hand a quick squeeze before letting go, and that seems to draw a small smile from the other girl.

Finished with their drinks, the two girls gather their things to get ready to leave. Hyejoo’s eyes zero in on the bouquet when Yerim reaches for it, surely noting the way Yerim handles the flowers as gently as possible. Chaewon gives her a smug smile when the youngest sends her a glare.

Hyejoo is quick to stand between Yerim and Chaewon as they walk to the station. It’s petty, but it doesn’t make a difference. Yerim still engages conversation between the three of them, but not as earnestly as before. Hyejoo is still noticeably on edge and it makes it hard for either girl to talk to her.

They’re quiet on the subway ride back home. Yerim’s and Hyejoo’s stop is before Chaewon’s, and she starts to say goodbye as they near the other girls’ stop.

Before she leaves, Yerim clasps their hands together quickly and says, “I had fun today. Thank you for the flowers and the coffee, I’ll pay you back next time.” And the look in her eyes is so warm with affection, Chaewon can’t even tell her not to worry about the gifts or the money. “Text me when you get home, okay? See you tomorrow!”

And then she slips from Chaewon’s hands, disappearing out of the sliding subway doors. Hyejoo gives one last scowl over her shoulder and then Chaewon is alone, her heart swelling with affection.

Maybe she hadn’t lost her momentum after all.

She can’t help the ghost of a smile fixed on her face as the train approaches her stop. Even though it didn’t all go according to plan, Chaewon is very happy with how today went. She gets home soon after and texts Yerim like she promised. The purple heart emojis she receives in reply leaves her sighing happily, falling back on her bed. Wholeheartedly, she believes today has put her at an advantage.

The other girls don’t stand a chance, and she can’t wait to let them know it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didn't have much reference for this pairing so i hope i did it justice :') i also hope it doesn't feel rushed... please let me know what you think! and if you ever wanna bounce ideas or inspo w me for your favorite pairing please feel free to dm me on twitter~ i wanna make sure i do a good job for everyone lol  
i hope you enjoyed and i'll try my best to update soon~ also feel free to guess who's chapter is next haha


	4. i wish you would...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hyunjin's chapter!  
i had so much i wanted to add to this chapter, i hope it doesn't seem rushed :(  
thank you for continuing to read!  
chapter title from around you by hyunjin

“You bought her flowers?” Hyunjin asks the next day, chewing her lower lip anxiously as Chaewon recounts her time with Yerim. Chaewon had called them out to the same café they’d started this to meet after school under the guise of regrouping, but with the actual intent to brag. Hyunjin refuses to call yesterday a date, not wanting to give Chaewon that satisfaction, but it sure sounds like that’s exactly what it was.

And Chaewon just nods proudly, an infuriating smile on her face. “Great idea, huh? Made it feel like a real date. We even held hands.”

“Wow, you’re really going for it, aren’t you?” Heejin laughs teasingly.

Chaewon flips her blonde hair over her shoulder. “What can I say, I know how to win over pretty girls.”

Hyunjin can’t help but pout at that. She doesn’t really want to hear Chaewon gloat about taking her crush on a romantic date. It’s so unfair.

But as she keeps bragging to Hyunjin, Hyejoo fixes her with a flat look. “Yerim didn’t think of it the same way.”

That gets Hyunjin, as well as Yeojin sitting to her left, to perk up as Chaewon’s victorious front falters. “Did she talk to you about it?” Hyunjin asks.

Hyejoo nods. “She thought it was a great time for you both to get closer—as friends.”

Yeojin fakes a wince to hide a smile. “Ooh, Unnie, have you been friendzoned?”

“The friendzone isn’t a real thing,” Chaewon replies with an eyeroll. “Of course it won’t take one date to get Yerim to like me, but it was a pretty strong start.”

“We’ll see,” Hyejoo says.

Chaewon gives her a pressed smile. “I’d like to see you do better.”

“We could all do better than you,” Yeojin says with a _hmph_. “You’re the one who doesn’t hang out with Yerim.”

Heejin looks like she wants to step in at that, but Chaewon speaks before she can. “What about Hyunjin?” she fires back. “She turns down Yerim all the time.”

Hyunjin frowns uncomfortably. She didn’t think she was the underdog here, but she could sort of understand why. Her and Yerim weren’t hanging out as much lately. But she and Yerim are close, it’s just not something their entire friend group is aware of. They used to hang out one-on-one quite often since Yerim was one of the few people who frequently attended Hyunjin’s games. They’re busier now, though, and that’s why they aren’t hanging out as much.

At least, that’s what Hyunjin tells herself.

Although she’s crushed on Yerim since the day they met, she never let that get in her way of being friends. She was able to push it aside and not let it affect them. The subject of her feelings was something she obviously avoided, fearful of what would happen if _anyone_, let alone just Yerim, knew. She would shut down whenever she felt like being too honest, shifting the conversation to something safer. But over the course of the last few months, they started getting even closer, hanging out more and more, and Hyunjin had to back off in fear of truly falling for Yerim. She thought it was obvious, but now she realizes it had been misinterpreted within their friend group.

It makes her wonder what Yerim thinks has happened. She feels anxiety twist up her stomach at the thought that her crush might think she didn’t want to be friends anymore.

Surprisingly, Yeojin speaks up to defend her. “What are you talking about? Hyunjin, don’t you guys hang out all the time?”

The soccer player swallows down her sudden nausea. “Yeah. I have been turning her down lately, but it’s because we’re so busy.” It’s a half-truth, at least. She looks at Chaewon, and she knows the other girl is still suspicious. But the other girls don’t need to know Hyunjin put distance between them out of self-preservation, so she doesn’t offer anything else.

Heejin’s expression is strangely soft as she looks back to her best friend. “Guys. Chill out. It doesn’t matter.” Hyunjin offers her a weak smile, but the damage has already been done.

She starts to tune out of the conversation as the girls keep fighting. She’s been thinking so much about this weird competition so much ever since they first instigated it. It’s made talking to Yerim that much more difficult. Holding back her feelings had turned into a physical ache that reappears every time she so much as looks at Yerim, intense longing burning in her throat as she holds back everything she’s wanted to say for so long. It hurts so much more now that she’s actually prohibited from saying anything.

She’s already tired of this. Maybe it would be better if she gave up.

“I think I should go home,” she mumbles, suddenly intensely dejected. The other girls pause their conversation to give her quick goodbyes, and then Hyunjin leaves the café without looking back.

\- - - -

After feeling sorry for herself for the rest of the night, Hyunjin wakes up the next morning with newfound determination. Damn it all, can she really give up on her crush so easy?

The next few days are made up of her trying to find the nerve to approach Yerim. She’s going to reach out to her friend and crush, and she’s going to take her on a date better than Chaewon could ever even _dream_ of. But first, she has to build up the courage.

She genuinely tries so hard. There isn’t much opportunity during school for her to talk to Yerim, but she does her best to take advantage of the times she does have. She approaches Yerim always with the intent to ask her out (covertly, of course), but she unfailingly chickens out every time. The jump from small talk to asking Yerim out is too overwhelming. It’s stupid, she knows, but she struggles to make any meaningful conversation now that she can’t ignore her feelings. And it _shouldn’t_ be difficult, because they used to hang out all the time before Hyunjin let her feelings get in the way. Hyunjin is useless now that she actually has to try wooing her crush, as opposed to burying her feelings and pretending they don’t exist.

She considers texting Yerim to make plans, but Hyunjin convinces herself that it would be pathetic to initiate their first date through text—even if Yerim wouldn’t know it’s supposed to be a date. She wants to overcome her insecurities by being able to ask Yerim face-to-face.

But it’s already nearing the end of the school day on Friday, and Hyunjin is well aware if she doesn’t act before Yerim leaves the school campus, they won’t see each other until Monday morning. Her own ego won’t accept anything else.

_It’s now or never_, Hyunjin repeats to herself as she sits tensely in her seat, coiled tightly like a spring ready to jump at the very moment she’s released. Nothing is going to stand in her way today. The final school bell rings, and Hyunjin _runs_ out of the room. Yerim’s classroom is down the hall from Hyunjin’s, and she waits by the door to search through the students filtering into the hallway.

The more time that goes by without her spotting the familiar brunette has Hyunjin more worried that she’d somehow missed her. But she waits until the very last student has left the classroom before she lets defeat win. Somehow Yerim had slipped away.

Dejected once again, Hyunjin turns around to leave the school. Maybe she’ll call Yerim when she gets home—that’s better than texting at least, right? (She knows she won’t call, even as she does her best to convince herself.)

But as it turns out, the entire ordeal was entirely useless. As she steps out of the front doors and into the courtyard, she’s surprised when she hears an excited shout of her name. When she glances up, Yerim is standing a few feet away, waving excitedly at her.

_Oh_. Yerim had been waiting for her. Hyunjin should feel happy, but nervousness spikes through her as she forces a smile and waves back. She walks up to Yerim, who jogs over to meet her halfway, and suddenly Hyunjin feels awkward.

That’s another annoying thing about this ordeal. Yerim is the only person on the entire school campus that could ever make _the_ Kim Hyunjin feel _awkward_.

“Hyunjin-unnie,” Yerim singsongs as she gets closer, beaming happily. “I was starting to think I missed you!”

“That’s funny,” Hyunjin says, trying to let her amusement show while hiding her nervousness. “I was looking for you.”

Yerim blinks in surprise. “Oh yeah? Great minds think alike, huh?” She gives a playful wink, and the older girl swallows unsurely.

“I guess?” Hyunjin gives a nervous laugh. “Um, did you need something?”

The dancer nods, “Yeah, actually, do you have a game coming up soon?”

“We’ve got one coming up this weekend. Why?”

“Perfect!” Yerim cheers excitedly. “I was talking to Jinsol-unnie about how good you’ve gotten, and she wants to come watch your next game.”

Hyunjin is simultaneously flattered and disappointed. “Is she the only one who wants to go?”

“I wanna go too, of course,” Yerim grins. Hyunjin tries not to blush, head bowing slightly to hide the way she bites back a smile. God, she really is so cute.

“Well everyone is welcome to come to school games,” Hyunjin says. “But maybe I can reserve you guys a front row seat.”

“Just send me the details and we’ll be there!” she promises.

The older girl’s heart feels like it’s going to beat out of her chest as she answers with a quiet, “Of course,” and watches Yerim walk away. This might end up being the most important game of her life.

\- - - -

By the time Saturday’s game arrives, Hyunjin had sent Yerim the information she needed to pass along to Jinsol, and the younger girl had confirmed that both dancers would be attending. Hyunjin’s heart is racing as she repeatedly scans the bleachers for her crush, and she’s worried she might have a heart attack on the field.

“Remi, did you reserve the front bleachers?” she asks the soccer team’s junior manager.

“I did my best,” the younger blonde replies. “We don’t usually reserve seats for anyone.”

“This is important,” Hyunjin says again. She’s stressed out beyond even what she thinks is reasonabl.

“Calm down, Hyunjin,” One of the other players, Heo Jiwon, walks over with a teasing grin. She slings an arm around Remi’s shoulders. “Let me guess, your _Yerimmie_ is here to see you?”

Hyunjin is sure her face instantly turns bright red at the accusation. She stammers futilely through a denial before admitting defeat as Remi stifiles giggles behind her hands. “Okay, fine, _yes_. She hasn’t been to the last few games, so I want her to be really impressed today. Is that too much to ask?”

Jiwon shrugs. “No worries. After this game, she’ll think you’re the coolest girl in school.”

“Most people already think so,” Remi reminds, rolling her eyes playfully. “Just kick some butt out there. If she doesn’t fall for you after watching you play, there’s no hope.”

That draws a worried frown from Hyunjin. Yerim’s seen her play several times. Is Hyunjin a lost cause after all?

“Yeah,” she agrees absently, but the nervousness thrumming through her veins says otherwise. She looks over the crowd again, sees the empty spot on the first row where a white tarp seems to be reserving the space. Yerim and Jinsol still aren’t here, and it’s not long before she has to join the rest of the team for their pregame huddle.

Just as she’s about to lose hope, one of their centers, Chaerin, jogs up to the trio. “Hey, Hyunjin? Uh, some girls invaded the locker room wanting to see you?”

_Oh._ Oops. “Thanks Chaerin,” she says before taking off for the locker room. As soon as she enters, she’s greeted with her coach’s stern glare, contrasted by Yerim’s bright expression. Hyunjin offers an apologetic smile. “Hey, I didn’t think you guys would be back here,” she greets, trying to mediate her fuming coach.

“We wanted to wish you good luck,” Yerim says. She’s dressed up for the game, wearing the green crop top she had made earlier in the semester to match Hyunjin’s jersey, paired with a white pleated skirt. Her hair is pulled up into neat pigtails tied with green and white ribbons, the team’s colors. She’s painted the same colors as two stripes high on one of her cheeks, and Hyunjin’s jersey number is on the other.

She’s unbelievably cute, dressed to cheer on not just the school, but to cheer on _Hyunjin_. Her imagination takes over a bit, and she has to actively block out the image of her wearing the soccer player’s actual jersey.

(Oh, how Hyunjin would love to see Yerim walking around school after a victory wearing that jersey, everyone _knowing_ Yerim has Hyunjin wrapped around her finger.)

“Hyunjinnie,” a voice interrupts, and Hyunjin is jerked out of that fantasy at Jinsol’s grinning expression. And then she remembers why Yerim is even here.

Jinsol is part of Yerim’s dance crew. With how large the dance crew is, they often work as a trio called Odd Eye Circle, made up of the two of them and another member of their close friend group, Jungeun. Yerim looks up to the two of them more than anyone else, but she especially looks up to Jungeun. Hyunjin can’t deny that it makes her jealous sometimes. Jinsol attends college at the same university as Jungeun and some of their other friends. They live nearby, though not as close as the rest of the group. Yerim often laments how she can only see Jinsol and Jungeun during dance practices, all three girls being too busy to simply hang out.

Hyunjin likes Jinsol. She’s awfully needy and whiny for someone her age, but she’s fun and sweet and always someone to look up to. They don’t have a lot in common, but she’s never had anything against Jinsol. Now, though, she somehow feels uneasy as Hyunjin notices the way she and Yerim cling to each other.

“It’s been so long since I’ve seen you play,” Jinsol says. “Yerimmie says you’re the team’s star, so you better kick some ass for me.”

“Right,” Hyunjin squeaks, clears her throat. “Yeah, of course. Uh, maybe you guys should go sit at the bleachers? The game’s gonna start soon and you can’t be back here.”

“Oh, sorry! We’ll see you in a bit, then. Good luck!” Yerim graciously drags Jinsol out of the locker room, and the coach finally relaxes.

“Alright girls, it’s time to get serious.” She calls, gesturing for a huddle up. Hyunjin joins her teammates, gets into her focused headspace. It’s game time, and she needs to put aside any thoughts of Yerim for now. Hyunjin is ready to run out on the field and kick ass as usual.

At least, that’s what she tells herself.

Because when they run out on the field, Hyunjin’s eyes immediately go to where Yerim and Jinsol are sitting in the front row of bleachers. Nervous butterflies explode in her stomach for reasons she can only attribute to her friends’ excited cheers. But it also fills her with that competitive spirit, to play her hardest and show off.

And that’s what she goes out and does. For the first part of the game, she dominates the field. Despite her normally relaxed, unassuming appearance, she’s a fierce competitor. She loves the thrill of the game. Nothing feels better than sending the ball flying past her competitors and into the goal. It’s difficult to score in soccer, but Hyunjin makes it look easy. Her air of confidence on the field is unrivaled. Her ego is even bigger now, knowing her crush is watching her play. She sends the ball sailing smoothly into the goal, scoring the first point of the game.

This is it, she thinks. This is the best feeling. Nothing could bring her down as she glances back to see Yerim giving her a thumbs up. She’s on cloud nine.

Things go downhill, however, after scoring her third goal. It’s another impressive shot, almost a perfect kick, and quick enough the other team can hardly react. But as she glances over at the bleachers, throwing a cool grin over her shoulder to the cheering audience, her confidence is brought to a screeching halt. Yerim’s back is turned _away_ from her. The girl is leaned against Jinsol, whispering something in the older girl’s ear. Jinsol laughs, her lips moving quickly as she replies to whatever was said.

They hadn’t seen the shot. Despite talking up Hyunjin’s game, Yerim wasn’t even paying attention.

It stings, but maybe they’d been faithfully watching the rest of the game, and Hyunjin caught them at a bad time. _Surely_.

Hyunjin tries not to care, but it’s distracting. While she attempts to get back into that concentrated headspace, but her eyes keep drifting to the stands. The more she looks, the more she starts to regret giving her friends such a noticeable seat in the front. It’s too easy to spot them, too easy to see Yerim is paying way more attention to Jinsol than she is to the game. Jinsol at least seems to be keeping an eye on Hyunjin, and they’re cheering along, but Yerim’s eyes can’t seem to leave Jinsol’s face, and it kills Hyunjin.

Even as the audience roars with cheers, she’s hardly glancing at what’s going on down on the field. Hyunjin is almost dumbfounded. Yerim isn’t even watching. How can she fall for how cool Hyunjin is on the field when she _isn’t even watching_?

She’s starting to drown in these thoughts, in the disappointment, hardly noticing their coach calling for a timeout as the other team scores, when a hand grabs her by the bicep. She whirls around, facing Jiwon’s concerned frown. “What’s wrong?”

Hyunjin glances to the score. They’re still ahead, but the other team has managed to score against them. She needs to get her act together. “Sorry—I just—,”

“Don’t pay attention to the bleachers,” she says, cutting Hyunjin off. “We’ll support you, but you gotta get your head in the game. Don’t make coach bench you.”

“You’re right,” Hyunjin nods. She needs to keep focus. She can’t let Yerim distract her. She follows Jiwon to the sidelines, psyching herself up again as her coach barks encouragements. They run back out on the field, and Hyunjin blocks out everything but the game.

(She’ll deny it, but there are a few times she still looks towards where Yerim’s sitting. Sometimes she’s watching, but Hyunjin catches her talking with Jinsol quite a few times. It’s even enough, though, that she doesn’t know what to think of it.)

Hyunjin channels her frustration into the game, and the other team has no chance against them. Her teammates support her flawlessly, Chaerin and Jiwon particularly working in perfect sync with her.

It’s no contest. The opposing team hardly puts up a fight. Hyunjin wipes the floor with their opponents. The game ends without the other side scoring a single goal in the second half, and Hyunjin’s team scoring another two goals.

Hyunjin chances a look at the audience as the final goal is scored, and she smiles with relief as she sees Yerim, standing and cheering louder than anyone else. At least she saw Hyunjin’s win.

Her team celebrates all the way back to the locker room. The girls joke and laugh as they get ready to leave. Normally they go out after games for celebratory dinners, but Hyunjin is uncertain if she’ll go today. She wants to see if Yerim wants to celebrate with her, but she isn’t confident after what happened during the game.

As it turns out, once again, she doesn’t need to bother. As she’s refilling her water bottle, Hyunjin can hear Remi giggling and talking in hushed voices to the other girls still in the locker room. Suddenly, the room is clearing out, until it’s only her left.

Weird, but whatever. She throws off her uniform to change, pulling on a pair of jeans. As she’s putting her shirt on, she hears the door open and someone walk in.

“Hyunjin?”

The soccer player startles, leans over to peer past the lockers, and there’s Yerim, smiling as their eyes meet. Damn, it’s starting to feel like Hyunjin can summon Yerim if she thinks hard enough.

The dancer bounces over, grinning from ear to ear. “Great game!” she congratulates. “I knew you’d win.”

Hyunjin shrugs off the praise, conflicted remembering Yerim’s inattentiveness. “Yeah. It was an easy game. It would be more exciting if you saw us play a tougher team.”

“It was cool to see you take over the field,” Yerim teases. “But you’re always so cool.”

She gives a cheeky wink as she leans against the row of lockers, and this time Hyunjin can’t help but feel a little pride at that. “Not really.” She turns back to her locker to finish putting away her stuff in her gym bag.

Yerim walks over to lean against the lockers beside Hyunjin, pulling her phone out of her pocket. “Jinsol-unnie was impressed too,” she singsongs. “Actually, we filmed one of your shots and sent it to Jungeun-unnie, and she thought you looked really cool!”

They were texting Jungeun too? They really weren’t paying attention at all.

“Actually, did you know Jinsol played soccer too? In middle school, anyway. She said she was really bad, but you made her want to try playing again. That sounds funny, watching Jinsol try to pick up sports again. You know she’d—,”

Hyunjin really can’t take any more. Entirely without thinking, she turns and hits her fist against the locker by Yerim’s head, leaning into her space. The dancer looks alarmed, blinking wide eyes up at Hyunjin. On her part, Hyunjin is pretty taken aback by herself as well. Embarrassed heat rushes up to her face. Ignoring the blush creeping up her neck, she takes a deep breath.

“Yerimmie, when will you pay attention to me?” she asks softly, trying not to sound too pathetic, but she can’t help but pout a little.

If possible, Yerim’s eyes widen further, before her surprised expression fades into a guilty frown. “I’m… sorry,” she says. “I didn’t think that it would bother you.”

Hyunjin doesn’t know what to say. Her chest hurts from the emotions swirling within her, and she’s probably lucky than it’s all too jumbled up to escape. But it hurts, and all she can do is push away, put a physical distance between them to maintain the emotional distance.

“Do you think,” she starts, finding her confidence to say what she’d wanted to say this whole week, “that we could hang out sometime?”

Yerim smiles warmly, in the way that sends relief through Hyunjin. “Of course. I always want to hang out with you. Actually, I came to ask if you wanted to go celebrate your win with me and Jinsol.”

Well, it wasn’t exactly what Hyunjin hoped for, but it still sounds like fun. “Sure. Just let me finish getting ready.”

As she turns, Yerim glances at her phone. Jinsol must have texted her, as she laughs. “Well hurry up! We’ve already kept Jinsol waiting and you know how she gets!”

Hyunjin pulls out her own phone, seeing a text from Remi sending her winking emojis. She can’t help but let out a quiet laugh herself. “Don’t worry. I’ll be ready soon.” She throws a few more things into her bag, hurrying to leave. Yerim smiles as she closes her locker, and Hyunjin leads her out of the locker room.

If she knew what she was getting into, Hyunjin might’ve changed her mind about going out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is going to be a two parter since it got so long :')  
what do choerry and jinsoul have in store for hyunjin? find out next time~ lol  
i hope you enjoyed!


	5. ...only look at me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so long!! hopefully this chapter makes up for the wait :(  
also sorry if this chapter seems rushed, tho i think it's the longest chapter so far

Hyunjin and Yerim meet back up with Jinsol outside by the field. The older girl waves them over excitedly, throwing her arms around Hyunjin when they get close enough. “Hyunjinnie! That was an awesome game!”

“Thanks, Unnie,” Hyunjin says as the other girl throws her arms around the soccer player in a tight hug. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

Jinsol gives her a tight squeeze before letting her go. “Are you hungry? I’ll buy you dinner to celebrate.”

Hyunjin grins. How can she say no to free food? “Yeah, let’s go!”

With Jinsol leading the way, the girls walk from the school and to a barbecue restaurant they often eat at. It’s a favorite among their friend group, in large part due to the dining area usually having enough space for all twelve of them to sit together, though they haven’t visited in a while. But as Jinsol pulls open the front door and the familiar smells of delicious barbecue greet them, Hyunjin is happy to see not much has changed. The restaurant has a modern, simplistic design that is somehow still cozy and welcoming with wood-paneled accents. The group walks into the large dining room and are seated at a small table with a grill set into the middle of the tabletop.

Hyunjin stalls for a moment before taking a seat, hoping Yerim will sit beside her, and she ends up having to hide her pout as Yerim sits beside Jinsol. She quickly ends up burying her face in the menu to ignore the way Yerim leans her head against Jinsol’s shoulder as they look over their own menu. She hates how she can’t even look at Yerim being clingy with their friends without feeling jealousy flare up in her chest.

_How annoying_. Jinsol isn’t even apart of this. Is Hyunjin going to get jealous seeing Yerim with anyone now?

They call for the waiter, and Jinsol takes the initiative to order for the group. She asks for a surprisingly large amount of food for only the three of them, probably enough for an entire extra portion. She hopes Jinsol will let her take the leftovers home. Maybe her and Yerim can conspire to split them while Jinsol is distracted.

They are quickly served their drinks and the server also sets up the grill at their table. Hyunjin takes a long sip of her soda as she watches Yerim ball up her own straw wrapper and place it to the side. Even doing something so simple, Hyunjin can’t help but watch her. And when Yerim glances up and gives her a smile, and Hyunjin almost chokes on her drink as she quickly returns it. God, she’s so whipped, isn’t she? She’s so stupid and hopeless.

“So Hyunjin,” Jinsol says, breaking through the younger girl’s thoughts. “Catch me up on what you’ve been up to! It feels like it’s been so long since we’ve talked.”

The soccer player purses her lips. “Uh, not much, I guess. I’ve been spending a lot of time practicing so I don’t have much time for anything else.”

“Ugh, tell me about it,” Jinsol pouts, “Our next performance is coming up and we barely have time to _breathe_.”

“It’ll be worth it to see your solo,” Yerim comforts, rubbing the older girl’s arm to soothe her.

“Are you kidding? No one will be able to beat _your_ solo,” Jinsol says, laughing when Yerim blushes. “What, it’s true!”

“You have a solo?” Hyunjin asks, genuinely curious.

Yerim nods, uncharacteristically shy as she tucks her hair behind her ear. “Yeah. It’s no big deal, though.”

“You didn’t know?” Jinsol looks surprised.

Hyunjin shakes her head, and Yerim shrugs sheepishly. “I just—I haven’t invited anyone yet.” It sounds like a very poor lie, and Hyunjin doesn’t know how to take that. She doesn’t push, though, not wanting to put Yerim on the spot in front of Jinsol.

“I’ll send you the details, okay?” Jinsol promises, side-eyeing Yerim suspiciously. At least she realizes it’s weird too.

Hyunjin nods, “I’d like to come watch,” she says, trying to convey it sincerely to Yerim.

“I-I know,” Yerim says, “I really just forgot.” There’s an earnestness in her eyes that begs Hyunjin to understand, and Hyunjin just decides to drop it.

Jinsol changes the subject then, “So you said practice is keeping you really busy,” she brings up again. “But you’re still making time for _friends_, right?” she puts a strange emphasis on her words that makes Hyunjin frown.

“Yeah, I guess? Me and Heejin—,” she pauses. It takes only now for her to realize she and Heejin hadn’t hung out at all this week. They were used to spending time together every day, and it’s weird to think they suddenly stopped. Hyunjin can’t even blame practice, she hasn’t really been any busier than usual with the team. But things between them (and all the other girls involved) have been so hectic with the weird _thing_ they’ve been caught up in, maybe they’ve been unconsciously avoiding each other. “Well, we _were_ hanging out a lot. Not so much the past week.”

That causes Yerim’s face to scrunch up with worry, but Jinsol’s expression brightens. “No worries, Hyunjin. I’m sure you’ll get to see her _very_ soon.” The statement is said with such conviction that Hyunjin doesn’t know what to take from it as the older girl shares a knowing smile with Yerim. Jinsol’s acting really weird.

She glances between the two girls. “Am I missing something?”

Yerim at least looks a little guilty, but Jinsol just waves off her concern. “You’ll see soon enough.”

Hyunjin doesn’t like the vagueness of this at all.

It’s quiet for a bit until the food is delivered to their table. Jinsol ordered them pork, and she sets the first set of meat on the grill to cook. Conversation goes back to normal after that as the girls focus on eating. It’s just as good as Hyunjin remembers, and she couldn’t be more grateful for it after today.

The conversation eases into something lighter and more casual, the three girls joking together as they enjoy the food. It’s been too long since Hyunjin’s gotten to hang out with friends in such a relaxed setting, especially Jinsol. With the older girls away at college, it’s hard to get them to meet up.

However as more time passes, Jinsol seems to get restless. It’s hard not to notice as she starts obsessively checking her phone every other minute.

And as she taps her phone screen for the hundredth time, Hyunjin gives her a pointed look as she piles more pork onto her plate. “A watched phone never gets a new notification.”

Right as she says that, though, Jinsol’s phone lights up with a new text. She smiles triumphantly, but her expression quickly falls as she reads the message. Curious, Yerim peers over at her phone, but Jinsol is quick to pull away. “Uh, excuse me for a minute,” she says, getting up from the table and stepping outside the restaurant.

“What’s up with her?” Hyunjin asks, craning her head back to watch the other leave.

“There was someone she was hoping to see,” Yerim says. When Hyunjin turns back, she finds the younger girl worrying her lower lip between her teeth. But she forces a smile when she meets Hyunjin’s eyes. “I’m sure it’s okay.”

“Who was she expecting?”

Yerim’s smile turns sheepish, but it’s mixed with a dangerous mischievousness that Hyunjin doesn’t know how to interpret. “Just a friend.”

And now it’s very clear that Yerim and Jinsol have teamed up for some plan they’ve conspired against Hyunjin. Today wasn’t really about catching up. It’s about whatever is going on with this vague “friend” and what they have to do with Hyunjin. And _that_ is worrying.

It doesn’t take too long for Jinsol to come back, but she looks upset as she retakes her seat beside Yerim. At the curious looks she receives, she sighs loudly. “I was trying to get someone else to meet with us, but she cancelled just now. And she didn’t even have a good excuse…”

Yerim pouts sympathetically, but something in her expression seems disappointed as well. “It’s okay, Unnie. Maybe another time?”

Even so, Jinsol’s frown doesn’t lessen. She seems genuinely put off by whatever just happened. It leads into an awkward silence between them, and Hyunjin focuses on her food in an effort to ignore the sudden tension.

But of course, Jinsol can’t let the silence sit for too long. It’s not in her nature. “You know what’s missing?” she says suddenly, breaking the quiet but not the awkwardness. The other two girls stare at her curiously as she waits expectantly for their interest. “Girl talk!”

Hyunjin immediately rolls her eyes, and Jinsol whines at her. “_Please_, I don’t get much opportunity for good gossip with Jungeun. She doesn’t think it’s ‘appropriate’.”

“What are you gossiping about…?” Hyunjin mutters, going ignored.

“Well,” Yerim says, looking conflicted at the other girl’s frown. “Did you have something in mind?”

“I’ve got something,” Hyunjin offers, leaning forward against the table. “How are things with Jungeun, Jinsol?”

Unfortunately, it doesn’t do much to faze Jinsol. “As good as it always is,” she answers, looking at Hyunjin why she doesn’t get why the question was even asked. Strangely though, Yerim’s entire frame tenses up before slowly, meticulously, easing. Her teammates’ mutual crushes must be a sore spot for her. Hyunjin would be equally annoyed being stuck with two oblivious idiots like Jinsol and Jungeun while they openly pine for each other without realizing how they’re clearly in love.

But then, Jinsol turns the tables. “Let’s talk about something _actually_ interesting.” She smiles deceivingly sweet at the other. “Do you have a crush on anyone, Hyunjinie?”

Hyunjin only _almost_ chokes on her own breath. “Uh, what?”

Jinsol _grins_, like she’s just caught Hyunjin red-handed. “You like someone, don’t you? You’ve got a crush, _don’t you_?”

The older girl is oddly giddy at the prospect, enough to have Hyunjin suspicious. It’s a weird turnaround from only a minute ago, and she can’t help but feel uneasy. Without letting her gaze waver over to Yerim, she says, “And what if I do like someone, huh?”

“Jinsol-unnie,” Yerim says, a slight warning in her tone.

But she goes ignored by both girls as Hyunjin initiates a staring challenge with Jinsol. The older dancer has this victorious smirk on her face as if she’s won something. “I bet I know who it is.”

Panic spikes through Hyunjin’s system, and it takes a lot of effort to keep her eyes on Jinsol. How could she know? Hyunjin thought that out of everyone she’d been the most discrete. Hell, they didn’t even hang out enough for Hyunjin to feel worried. And yet here they are, Jinsol daring her to out her crush _in front of_ her very crush. She keeps her composure, cocking a challenging eyebrow at the other and asking, “Yeah? Who is it then?”

There’s no way Jinsol is going to out her crush like this in front of Yerim. Jinsol isn’t cruel. But… Maybe she does get overexcited and think she’s got the right idea about things when she very clearly _doesn’t_.

Does Yerim know what’s coming next? Does she know what Jinsol is about to say? Hyunjin can’t even look at her to gauge her reaction, too afraid of what she’ll see, or even what she might reveal.

Jinsol leans forward, silently studying Hyunjin, who can only stare back nervously. Then, she asks, “You like Heejin, don’t you?”

Hyunjin blanks, stunned. _What_? “What?”

Heejin? This was about Heejin? Her eyes flicker to Yerim, who is currently throwing Jinsol a look of alarm—not surprised or taken aback by the accusation, just thrown off that Jinsol had asked it. She swallows thickly. “No? Definitely not.”

“I don’t believe you,” Jinsol drawls, looking at her pointedly.

“I swear, I’ve never had a crush on Heejin.” Admittedly, it isn’t a new accusation. There have been rumors floating around school before about them because of how close they are. But Hyunjin has never had feelings like that for the other girl. Heejin is her best friend, that’s it, and she’s sure Heejin feels the same way.

But of course, Jinsol still isn’t satisfied. She pouts disappointedly at Hyunjin’s denial. “Then who _do_ you like?”

Here’s what Hyunjin was afraid of. Hyejoo’s voice echoes in her head, reminding her of the dumb rules of the dumb competition. “I can’t tell you,” she forces out between clenched teeth, unable to help the way she glances to Yerim again. The younger girl looks at her apologetically, and guilt twists harshly in Hyunjin’s stomach.

God, if it wasn’t for those stupid rules she’d be able to clear this up.

Yerim takes one of Jinsol’s hands in hers, “Unnie, it’s okay—,”

“If you can’t say, then I don’t believe you,” Jinsol stubbornly announces, shaking Yerim off of her and crossing her arms over her chest in a way that makes her pout look even more childish. Hyunjin lets out a sharp breath, but she doesn’t say anything to challenge the other. After a beat of silence, the oldest nods. “I thought so.”

Hyunjin rolls her eyes, plucking pieces of cooked pork off the grill and onto her plate in an effort to ignore her own frustration. She wonders if she would have been brave enough to tell the truth if she wasn’t held back by Hyejoo’s stupid rule.

She probably wouldn’t be, but that doesn’t really make a difference right now.

To make things worse, it’s only the _start_ on an ensuing awkward conversation. Jinsol starts talking about Heejin, and Hyunjin quickly finds out that tonight’s outing was meant to get her and Heejin together. And to make matters _worse_, Yerim had been in on it. She’d _known_ and was going along with it. Which ultimately meant that Yerim thought that Hyunjin liked Heejin, which makes everything _awful_.

And despite Hyunjin’s clear misery, Jinsol keeps going _on_ and _on_ about how she could tell that Hyunjin has liked Heejin this whole time, and that they would be _so cute_ together, and that Hyunjin should really just say something before someone else takes Heejin away. It’s _unbearable_, but Hyunjin just sits there and lets her go off. There isn’t much to do about it with Yerim sitting there. At least she seems to recognize Hyunjin’s discomfort and have the decency to look guilty about it. She even tries to stop Jinsol’s tirade, but it’s no use.

Somehow Jinsol is able to go on and on, unendingly. It’s _torture_. How can she talk so much about a relationship that no one is interested in? It’s maddening! _Finally_, the conversation is cut off when Yerim yelps after dropping kimchi in her lap. “Shoot, I’ll be right back,” she excuses herself and leaves for the bathroom.

As soon as she’s out of sight, spurred on by pure annoyance, Hyunjin reaches forward and snatches Jinsol’s wrist to tug her forward, startlingly quick. Jinsol looks at her in surprise, and Hyunjin hisses under her breath, “It’s Yerim, okay? I like Yerim.”

Jinsol’s jaw drops in a way that would have been comical if Hyunjin’s heart wasn’t racing a mile a minute and she wasn’t worried about Yerim overhearing somehow. “_Really_?” she asks, clearly taken entire off-guard, but she doesn’t look upset. In fact, she seems excited about it. “Wait wait, oh my _god_, you two would be so cute!”

Hyunjin can’t help but scoff at how quickly Jinsol changes gears. “What about me and Heejin?” she asks dryly, sitting back in her seat. It’s kind of funny, but it also makes it look like Jinsol is desperate to get Hyunjin to hook up with anyone.

The dancer waves it off. “That was Yerimmie’s idea. She thought you guys were having romantic tension. Ooh, wait,” she frowns. “That might be a problem, huh?”

“No shit,” Hyunjin sighs, rubbing her temple. “She really thinks I like Heejin?”

There’s a pause as Jinsol pouts guiltily, wringing her fingers together. “Yeah,” she mumbles. “She, um. Thought it would be fun to kinda play cupid for you guys… And I kinda encouraged it…” Oh, isn’t that fun to hear? Her crush wants to set her up with someone else. Wonderful. “But! We can fix this!”

“How?” Hyunjin asks doubtfully.

Jinsol thinks about it silently for a moment, her brows creasing together in focus. Finally, she gets a steely look to her eyes and she nods slowly. “We’ll ask Jungeun,” she announces sagely.

Oh great. Resorting to asking Jungeun for help with her kiss must surely be the kiss of death.

“No, don’t look so hopeless!” Jinsol begs as Hyunjin’s expression falls. “Jungeun knows Yerim really well, and she’s good at making plans.”

“I hope she didn’t help with your plan to get me and Heejin together.”

Jinsol purses her lips. “See, this wasn’t really planned… But it would have been a lot more awkward if it had, so honestly it worked out.” She shrugs, daring Hyunjin to disagree.

Instead Hyunjin sighs deeply. “You invited Heejin to join us, didn’t you?” Yeah, that really would have been terrible. Maybe it did turn out the best way it could have. Jinsol opens her mouth to reply, but before she can, Hyunjin spots Yerim returning from the bathroom. She says, “Never mind—just drop it, okay? Don’t say anything to anyone. I’ll figure something out.”

She starts to protest, but Yerim sits down beside her before she can say anything. The younger dancer seems to notice something between them as she smiles carefully at them both. “Did I miss something?”

“Nope,” Hyunjin denies, easily lying through her teeth. “Everything’s good.” Yerim doesn’t look quite convinced, but she doesn’t press. Thankfully someone in their group has some nuance.

The rest of dinner goes without incident as Jinsol takes over the conversation by retelling some story about her and their friend Sooyoung getting trapped overnight in one of the lecture halls on their university’s campus. Just like that, everything goes back to being relaxed and fun. But Hyunjin can’t fully shake off the uneasiness she feels whenever she catches sight of Yerim’s smile.

There’s a point when Yerim is distracted by her phone and Hyunjin is making her last pork lettuce wrap when Jinsol starts _subtly_ waving her hand urgently to catch Hyunjin’s attention. The older girl gestures to the wrap and then to Yerim, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. Hyunjin rolls her eyes, but she turns to Yerim regardless.

“Yerimmie, here,” she offers her wrap as Yerim looks up at her surprised.

“Oh, thanks,” the younger blinks, taking the pork wrap from her and eats it. And Jinsol still has the gall to put her face in her hands like she’s disappointed.

They wrap up soon after that, and Jinsol pays the bill as promised. As they leave the restaurant, Jinsol yawns and says, “It’s pretty late, huh? I’m gonna head home, okay?”

“You want me to walk you to the station?” Yerim asks.

“Nah, it’s too out of your way,” Jinsol denies, throwing Hyunjin a knowing look that Yerim couldn’t possibly have missed. If it wouldn’t look even more suspicious, Hyunjin would have facepalmed. But Yerim doesn’t seem to notice either way, looking disappointed. “It’s okay,” Jinsol reassures. “We’ll see each other soon. Don’t forget we have practice on Monday!”

“I know,” Yerim sighs, but she smiles. “Have a safe trip home!”

“You guys too! See you, Hyunjin!” Jinsol waves goodbye before heading off.

Yerim turns to Hyunjin, her smile turning soft. “Hey, wanna stop by a convenience store before going home?”

Hyunjin nods. How could she say no to spending alone time with Yerim? “Sure, there’s one down the street.”

“Actually, I’ve got a specific store in mind,” the dancer says, linking arms with Hyunjin and leading her in the opposite direction Jinsol left.

They walk in an amiable silence, no conversation or small talk, just enjoying each other’s presence. And it’s comfortable, Hyunjin prefers it to everything else that happened today. It doesn’t last long though— _of course_—as her phone starts buzzing urgently in her pocket.

“Sorry,” she mumbles, hating to break the quiet peace, and pulls her phone out of her pocket. She finds she’s been placed in a new group chat with Jinsol and Jungeun, and Jinsol is frantically filling in the other on what happened.

**Jinsol [20:42]** _Give Hyunjinnie some advice!!_

God. Did she have to do this _now_?

Hyunjin mutes the chat and puts her phone back in her pocket. She glances at Yerim through her peripheral vision, and under the pretense of stretching pulls her a little bit closer by their linked arms. Yerim laughs, bumping their shoulders together and leaning towards Hyunjin. A yearning feeling stretches wide in Hyunjin’s chest. Even with the simplest of gestures, Yerim makes her so happy, and she just wants to stay like this with her.

As they continue walking and get closer to the store, Hyunjin realizes they’re in the area of her favorite convenience store, the one that sells her favorite bread. And that’s exactly where Yerim leads her, in all its fluorescent glory.

“Any reason you picked this store?” Hyunjin asks.

Yerim gives her that knowing smile with a playful tilt of her head. “Oh y’know, they’ve got the snacks I like,” she teases. A little more seriously, she adds, “_And _I thought I would treat you to some of your favorite bread as an apology.”

Hyunjin lifts a curious eyebrow. “Apology for what?”

“You know,” Yerim says, “For Jinsol.”

“Oh.” The other girl shrugs it off. “You don’t need to apologize for her.”

“I just wanna make it up to you,” Yerim rolls her eyes, but she’s still smiling. They walk into the store, and Yerim sighs, “Remember when we used to come here before your games?”

“Don’t reminisce like our unnies,” Hyunjin teases. “It wasn’t that long ago.”

“It kinda feels like it,” the dancer mumbles, but she quickly moves on. She leads Hyunjin over to the bread section, which boasts a large variety. “Pick out anything you want!”

“Okay…” Hyunjin can’t really say no with Yerim being so insistent. After a moment of deliberation, she carefully chooses a cheesecake bread.

“Is that all?” Yerim asks after Hyunjin steps away from the shelf. If it had been anyone else offering, or maybe just under different circumstances, Hyunjin would have taken that as the initiative to grab more treats. But this time she only nods. “Okay, well, I’m gonna grab some snacks real quick and then we can go home.”

“No worries,” Hyunjin reassures. And as Yerim wanders off to find what she needs, Hyunjin checks her phone again. There are more messages in the group chat that she doesn’t look at, but more interestingly is the single message Jungeun had sent her privately.

**Jungeun [21:23]:** _do you really like Yerim?_

Hyunjin sighs, _so much for not saying anything_. She really can’t trust Jinsol at all, can she? Whatever, it isn’t like she has anything to lose at this point. So she answers honestly.

**Hyunjin [21:29]:** _Yeah I do_

Almost immediately, she gets a reply.

**Jungeun [21:30]:** _then just tell her how you feel. be open with her_

**Hyunjin [21:30]:** _It’s a long story but I can’t. I’m trying to be open though_

**Jungeun [21:31]:** _ ??? okay… well you gotta flirt somehow. make sure she knows you don’t like Heejin that’s important _

Yeah, no shit.

**Jungeun [21:31]:** _ Jinsol says she can talk to Yerim and smooth things out but you’re going to have to find a way to get her to like you. switch to the gc Jinsol says she’s got a plan _

Oh no. Reluctantly, Hyunjin opens the group chat.

**Hyunjin [21:32]:** _So what’s the plan?_

**Jinsol [21:32]:** _ OMG FINALLY okay so we’re coming up with a multi-step plan. First step, very important!! get Yerimmie to give up on project 2jin!! _

**Hyunjin [21:32]:** _2jin? Really?_

**Jinsol [21:33]:** _ It’s cute, be flattered. I’ll tell her to disband project 2jin. You should focus on hanging out with her as much as possible! I’ll cancel practice next week so she has time _

**Hyunjin [21:33]:** _Don’t do that_

**Jungeun [21:33]:** _who said you have the power to cancel practice_

**Jinsol [21:33]:** _ Okay good bc we can’t afford to miss practice :( but still, I’m sure you can work something out… like you can come to our showcase and tell Yerim she’s the best dancer in the whole world and sweep her off her feet! _

**Jungeun [21:34]:** _Yerim would be really happy if you came_

**Jinsol [21:34]: ** _ OH and what if you guys had a project to bond over?? Something to gossip about together… _

**Jungeun [21:34]: ** _no more setting friends up with each other please_

**Jinsol [21:35]: ** _HMM but Chaewon and Hyejoo seem pretty close, don't they???_

**_Jungeun [21:35]: _** _STOP_

Hyunjin’s taken off guard by the suggestion of setting up two of her rivals together. Is that allowed? What has she gotten herself into? Somehow she keeps getting strung along into these weird scenarios. She pockets her phone again, deciding to ignore the conversation for now, and as she looks up she sees Yerim walking back over.

“Ready to go?”

“Yeah,” Hyunjin nods, and joins Yerim over by the checkout counter. Yerim pays for everything, including Hyunjin’s bread as promised, and they step out of the store to walk home.

Their houses are in the same direction, so they’re able to walk together for a bit longer. Yerim hands over the bread as soon as they’re out of the store, and Hyunjin shares it with her as they walk. It’s quiet again, but not in the comfortable way it had been earlier. Now Hyunjin feels heavy, like she’s carrying an uncomfortable weight. And it lasts their entire walk, until Hyunjin sees the street where their paths will diverge. _It’s now or never_. She decides to interrupt the awkward silence by asking the question stuck on her mind.

“You know I don’t like Heejin, right?” Hyunjin asks suddenly, looking at Yerim earnestly.

The dancer blinks at her, surprised at the question, but she offers a reassuring smile. “You made a pretty big deal out of it when Jinsol accused you,” she replies, but it doesn’t answer Hyunjin’s question.

The soccer player takes a deep breath, and says again, “It’s really important to me that you believe me.”

Yerim must see how serious Hyunjin is, as her smile fades a bit. “Okay. I believe you. But can you tell me who you do like? I promise I won’t tell anyone.”

“It’s a secret,” Hyunjin denies, seeing the disappointment in Yerim’s expression. “But I promise I’ll tell you as soon as I can.”

That seems to satisfy Yerim as she nods. “Okay. I’ll remember that.” She smiles gently, so pretty under the streetlights. And Hyunjin can only smile back as they reach their split off point.

“This was fun,” Yerim tells her, already giving her parting words. “I’ll come see more games if I have time, okay?”

“We should hang out more,” Hyunjin adds, a little too earnestly. But Yerim’s smile stretches into a grin, and she figures it’s okay.

“I’ll see you later,” Yerim says as she starts to leave.

There’s too much left unsaid for Hyunjin to let her go now. Hyunjin wanted today to be special like how Chaewon had described her day with Yerim. It’s a lost cause now, but maybe she can make it worth it in some way. Jinsol’s text echoes in her head, and she gets a very bad idea.

“Wait,” she says, reaching out and grabbing Yerim’s wrist. The dancer looks at her curiously, and Hyunjin swallows thickly as she says, “Uh, do you think you could help me with something?”

“Of course,” Yerim nods, like Hyunjin didn’t even need to ask. “What’s up?”

“Um,” she hesitates, words crammed in the back of her throat. _Chaewon and Hyejoo seem pretty close, don’t you think?_ It would be so easy to say it, to insinuate something between her rivals and weaponize Yerim’s want to play matchmaker. But it feels wrong to use Yerim to sabotage the others like that, to put Yerim in a position that Hyunjin knows is wrong. So Hyunjin swallows all of it down instead. “I have a science project that I need to visit a park for, and I was wondering if you’d wanna keep me company…” she says lamely.

Yerim’s expression lights up in a grin. “Definitely! That sounds like fun!”

“Okay, I’ll text you about it,” Hyunjin says, smiling weakly. “Oh, and don’t forget to give me the details for your showcase.”

“Will do,” Yerim gives her a thumbs up. “See you!”

They say their goodbyes, and Hyunjin watches Yerim walk away for a moment before continuing on her own way home. She only checks her phone again when she gets to her shared apartment, and decisively ignores Jinsol and Jungeun arguing in the group chat. She hopes they’ll cut it out by tomorrow.

(She knows they won’t, but there’s nothing wrong with hoping.)

And as she gets ready for bed, exhausted after the long day, she finds she already misses Yerim. She doesn’t know what to do if it doesn’t work out between them, but that’s a thought for another night. Today was a good first step, and she’s determined to make it count for something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoa development... lol  
i hope this was cute or funny or something, i had fun writing it :')  
thank you for reading, and let me know what you think so far!


	6. will you come a little closer to me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG, i don't have a good excuse, it just never seemed to come together until now :')  
thank you to nelle (@cychoerry on twitter pls follow her!) for your help with so many ideas in this chapter!! especially the idea for the date, you made so much of this possible haha :) and ofc thank you for always hyping me up <3  
chapter title from chuu's spring flower

Yeojin is practically bouncing as she walks into the studio, excited to finally have Yerim to herself for a few hours. She’s going to prove today that she’s the one Yerim likes, one way or another. She’s come prepared.

They have to spend most of the day catching up on the practice they lost last week, of course, but Yeojin has other plans. Somehow, someway, she’s going to get Yerim to admit that to some degree or in some capacity she returns Yeojin’s feelings. She doesn’t need anything concrete or grand, just enough to get the other girls to back off.

She’s got the perfect plan. All she needs to do is get Yerim out of the practice room.

Yerim in the studio is surprisingly focused. She can still laugh and joke around, but it isn’t to the same extent as usual. If it isn’t something to do with the choreography, she’s only half-listening. Yeojin needs her full attention for the conversation she wants to have.

In her excitement, Yeojin is at the studio much earlier than she needs to be. It isn’t a bad thing, though, as this gives her more time to think and plan. Yerim has her group practice with the other Odd Eye Circle girls now, and Yeojin likes to have her stretches and warm-ups done before Yerim comes to practice with her. She starts off by loosening her joints and muscles, and she allows her mind to wander as she goes through the familiar motions.

Of course, her thoughts wander quickly to the events of the last week. She can’t keep her mind off it. It’s annoying and overwhelming, and it makes Yeojin anxious that she hasn’t been able to see Yerim until today.

Telling the other girls about her crush had to be the biggest mistake she’s ever made. It’s certainly her biggest regret to date. If she hadn’t said anything, she could be dating Yerim right now! She could have confessed in peace without interference, and Yerim would have said yes, and they’d be together and happy. Instead she has to deal with the headaches the other girls give her—and the anxiety of losing Yerim.

She doesn’t know what she would do if she lost Yerim to anyone else. It makes her stomach churn to think she’d lost her chance that quickly, that _easily_. It isn’t fair. Granted, there’s not really anything stopping her from confessing now. If she plans it well enough, no one will know. It could work, she tries to tell herself. But recalling Hyejoo’s threat causes a shiver to run down Yeojin’s back. She wishes she wasn’t, but she’s afraid of what Hyejoo would do if any of them broke the rules of their game, no matter how dumb it is.

Still, she thinks as she crouches down to do her floor stretches, it’s nice to daydream at least.

The door opens abruptly, startling Yeojin out of her daydreams and causing her to topple over. She flips around to see Yerim standing in the doorway, the other dancer blinking at her in surprise. Yeojin flushes with embarrassment, stammering out, “U-Unnie! You’re early!”

“Sorry, Yeojinnie,” Yerim apologizes. Her demeanor and tone are oddly subdued, contrasting the way she typically greets Yeojin with big smiles and excited energy. “My practice with Jinsol and Jungeun ended early so I thought I’d see if you wanted to get some extra practice time?”

“Of course! I was just finishing my stretches,” Yeojin shoots her a thumbs up, relieved when Yerim finally smiles back.

“I’ll warm up a bit and you can join me when you’re ready,” Yerim says as she sets her stuff down by the door and walks past Yeojin to the far side of the room. Yeojin nods, then does her best to quickly wrap up her stretching.

When she bounces over to Yerim’s side, the other dancer is finishing her own warmups. When Yeojin joins her, Yerim turns on the stereo to their song. “Okay,” she says, “I’ll show you the dance and then I’ll teach it to you.”

Yeojin nods eagerly, her full attention on Yerim as she comes back over and starts dancing to the song. Yeojin already knows the first half of the song, she’s seen Yerim perform it hundreds of times and has danced to it with her, but she’s still captivated every time. She dances playfully to the first half, but she gets more serious as she transitions into the part Yeojin hasn’t learned yet. The dance isn’t too complicated, nothing Yeojin is worried about, but there are a few parts that she can tell will take lots of practice for them to get the synchronicity down.

“Ready to practice?” Yerim asks when she finishes, throwing Yeojin a smile over her shoulder when she sees the excitement on the other girl’s face.

“Of course!” Yeojin joins her, hardly able to contain her excitement. And Yerim smiles fondly at her, the smile that makes Yeojin’s chest go warm and light knowing she’s the only one Yerim looks to with this kind of affection. It’s the smile that reinforces Yeojin’s feelings, that makes her certain Yerim returns those same feelings.

They practice for maybe another hour, enough time that they’ve worked on a few parts of the choreography, when they are interrupted by Yerim’s phone ringing. She calls for a short break as she goes to answer it, and Yeojin watches as her easygoing expression suddenly shifts into an annoyed frown. She doesn’t answer the call, but Yeojin can see her sending texts to someone—assumedly the mystery caller.

“Everything okay?” she asks carefully, not at all subtle.

Yerim takes a deep breath and nods slightly, but as she moves to throw her phone back in her bag, the screen lights up with a new message that has her eyes go wide with surprise.

“Actually,” she says, “How would you feel about ditching practice and doing something else?”

Yeojin blinks at her, taken off guard. “Really? You want to skip practice?”

Yerim nods, first slowly as she’s still thinking about it, and then gaining confidence as she makes her decision. “Yeah. I know you were excited for practice, but I’ll make it up to you, okay?”

Coming from anyone else, Yeojin would be all over this idea. But from Yerim, she’s left dumbfounded. She doesn’t know what to think, but she isn’t going to pass up the chance to hang out with Yerim. “Okay… yeah, let’s go get slushees!”

Her enthusiasm startles a relieved giggle from Yerim, and the two girls quickly grab their stuff before rushing out of the studio. There’s a convenience store nearby, but Yerim insists on walking to a store further away. Yeojin doesn’t complain about it though, not when she gets to hold Yerim’s hand the entire walk there. It doesn’t stop her from wondering why Yerim wanted to get away from the studio so quickly, though.

Yeojin considers the consequences of prying as she plays with Yerim’s fingers. She decides to take the risk. “Is there a reason you want to go to this store?”

Yerim shakes her head and offers a smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “They have more slushee flavors here,” she says with a wink, and Yeojin can’t help but feel disappointed at the answer.

She wishes it was easier to get Yerim to open up. But while Yerim is warm as rays of sunshine, she’s very closed off about her problems. Normally she keeps her negative emotions so hidden that Yeojin won’t pick up that something is wrong until it’s pointed out to her. As far as anyone in their friend group knows, Yerim only goes to Jungeun and Jinsol when she needs help. Otherwise, Yerim doesn’t let anyone know if something is bothering her.

Yeojin wants to change that, to be a responsible shoulder for Yerim to lean on, but she doesn’t know how. She had resigned herself to never having that privilege, but lately her motivation has been renewed.

The walk to the convenience store is long, but not bad enough to tire them out. Yeojin tugs Yerim to the back of the store where the slushee machines are, excitedly grabbing cups for them and filling them up with a mix of her and Yerim’s favorite flavors. She’s known in their friend group for making the best combinations.

When she turns to hand one of the slushees to Yerim, the smile on the older girl’s face is bright and warm, and the fondness in her eyes is enough to make Yeojin’s heart race and for her own smile to soften. “Here you go, Unnie,” she says, dropping her gaze so she doesn’t get too caught up in the affection that will drive her crazy. “I’ll buy, okay?”

Yerim gives a short huff of a laugh, patting Yeojin’s head. “I’m the unnie here, it’s my job to pay!”

She pouts at that, but Yeojin can’t pass up being spoiled by her crush. Her protesting is minimal and easily deflected. Yerim takes the slushees to the counter and pays for them. When she hands Yeojin her slushee back, Yeojin quickly takes Yerim’s free hand in her own again and pulls her out of the store.

“Slow down, Yeojinnie!” Yerim says, amused, and Yeojin does, reluctantly letting go of the other girl’s hand while they drink their slushees. They walk a little way down the street before Yerim tries hers, her eyes lighting up, “Wow! Another great flavor combination,” she praises teasingly.

Yeojin grins, flipping her hair over her shoulder. “You can’t go wrong with cotton candy and watermelon lime,” she says nonchalantly, and Yerim laughs.

“Did you get a different flavor? Let me try,” she peers over at the swirl of colors in Yeojin’s cup.

Yeojin blinks. “Uh, yeah, it’s pina coloda, green apple, and blue raspberry,” she hands the slushee over, and _maybe_ it’s immature (it’s _definitely_ immature) but she finds herself blushing at the thought of sharing an indirect kiss.

Her hopes are quickly dashed, however, as Yerim pulls her own straw out of her slushee and plunks it into Yeojin’s before taking a sip. “Mm! How do you come up with these combinations? They’re so good!” She puts her straw back in her own cup and Yeojin sips on her own slushee regretfully.

“They just come to me,” She tries to muster up a smile to recover from her disappointment, and if it looks forced Yerim doesn’t say anything. She seems to be in a better mood than earlier, though, and Yeojin finds herself pushing her luck again, “_Sooo_… Are you ever gonna tell me why we had to ditch practice?”

That draws a guilty smile from the other girl. “Yeah… Sorry about that. It wasn’t nice of me to cut your practice short.”

She doesn’t say anything else, and it frustrates Yeojin to no end how Yerim can compartmentalize like that and act like everything is fine. So she presses insistently, “Is everything okay?”

And Yerim sighs then, as if relenting, and she takes another sip of her slushee before saying, “Group practice was… rough, I guess.” She forces a smile as she looks to the other, and Yeojin thinks there must be more to that story.

“Were the unnies being mean to you?” She’s mostly joking when she says it (no one has ever known Jungeun or Jinsol to be mean, especially not to their resident sunshine), but Yerim winces and it’s obvious Yeojin has hit some sort of nerve.

She rubs at her temples with her free hand. “I don’t really wanna talk about it,” she mumbles, and suddenly she looks so tired, like the question alone had drawn all the energy out of her.

Yeojin blinks at her in surprise, guilt squeezing in her chest. “I-I’m sorry,” she stutters. Now she’s even more worried. But Yeojin is too fearful of Yerim pulling away after she’s shared this much, so she doesn’t push. But she can’t keep the concern and disappointment off her face.

Yerim glances over at Yeojin, watching her for a moment before her expression softens. “Don’t worry about it, Yeojinnie. It’s okay,” she gives a wide, toothy grin to accentuate her point, and Yeojin would smile back if Yerim looked genuine.

It takes a moment for Yeojin to respond as she plays with the consequences of speaking her mind. She doesn’t want to pry, _really_, but she’s too worried not to. “You know… I’m always here for you,” she says quietly, her eyes fixed on her slushee. She wishes she knew how to better express that sentiment, that Yeojin is always willing to help, but she settles with that.

And then it’s Yerim’s turn to sit in contemplative silence as Yeojin chances a look up at her. Yerim’s lips are pressed in a thoughtful frown, her eyes guarded as she considers opening up. It’s the most vulnerable Yerim has let herself be in front of Yeojin in a long time.

Finally, she relents, “Jinsol and Jungeun unnies are keeping secrets,” she says, swirling her straw in her slushee. “And… Jinsol cancelled our plans without giving any reason why, and it hurt my feelings.”

That’s all Yeojin needs to know to understand. Yerim has always been sensitive about her place with the older girls in their friend group. She tries not to show it, but Yeojin has always seen how it affects Yerim to be brushed off by their friends. Jinsol may see cancelling plans as nothing serious, but it means a lot to Yerim.

“We can make plans instead,” Yeojin blurts out, startling both her and Yerim. It was a sudden thought, but she means it. “We can hang out instead, that way you don’t really have to cancel your plans. We’ll do whatever you wanted to do with Jinsol-unnie.”

The earnestness in her tone and expression must take Yerim off guard, as she gives a surprised laugh. “You don’t even know what we were gonna do,” she points out, amused.

“If it’s something you wanna do, then I’m okay with trying anything,” Yeojin tells her with a quick wink and a thumbs up motion.

Yerim’s laughing, but suddenly she brightens up as if an idea had just dawned on her. “You know what? We should do that! We should have a sleepover!”

Yeojin’s breath catches in her throat. They’ve had sleepovers before, of course, but not since Yeojin has been forced to face her feelings. It feels a bit awkward now, but she can’t deny that the thought of a sleepover, just the two of them, sounds perfect.

But before she can announce her excitement, Yerim continues, “And we should invite everyone else too!”

“Huh?” Yeojin’s daydream abruptly ends at the mention of anyone else at the sleepover. “Everyone else?”

“Yeah!” Yerim gushes excitedly. “My sister is gonna be going out of town soon, and I’m sure my brother will stay over at his friend’s house then. I forget when but I’ll figure it out and we can plan the sleepover then!” She beams, and Yeojin unfortunately can’t find it in her to complain.

So instead she smiles, trying to convey genuine excitement, and she says, “That sounds like a lot of fun! If you need help planning anything, just let me know, okay?”

Yerim smiles, sincerely this time, and she reaches over to squeeze Yeojin’s hand affectionately. “I’m really lucky to have you for a friend, Yeojinnie.”

Yeojin quickly feels her brain short-circuit. Maybe she’s imagining it, but Yeojin truly believes there’s love in Yerim’s eyes as she speaks. She _means_ it, Yerim feels _lucky_ to have Yeojin here out of everyone else. And that has to mean something, right?

“I-I’m lucky to have you too,” Yeojin replies, almost a little too eagerly. There are butterflies in her stomach as she preens at the comment. At least it helps subside the annoyance at the thought of her sleepover being hijacked by the other girls.

And who knows, maybe in the meantime that she stills has Yerim, she can convince her not to invite anyone else.

They keep walking and chatting, seemingly aimless until Yeojin realizes belatedly that they’re headed towards her home. That has her hopes sinking. How can she go home now when she could keep being with Yerim? But maybe Yerim has somewhere in mind that she wants to go, or maybe they’re walking without a purpose until heading back to the practice studio. There’s only one way to find out.

“Are you leading us somewhere?” she asks bluntly, blinking up at Yerim and doing her best to look unassuming.

She nods. “Yeah, I know you usually take the bus home, but since we skipped most of practice I figured you’ll still get home at the same time if we walk.” Yerim smiles, like it’s a brilliant idea. Yeojin tries her very best not to outwardly react.

“Oh.” Is all she says. And just like that, panic sweeps through Yeojin. She can’t let Yerim take her home yet, not when she hasn’t even had the opportunity to sweep Yerim off her feet yet. Isn’t this her chance to do something like Chaewon did? She should get the opportunity to take the upper hand.

Almost frantically, she scans the street for _anything_ they can stop and do. She’s not picky—she’d take a little café, a cute boutique, _something_.

Flashing lights catch her eye, and she quickly glances over to a large, colorful storefront. Neon signs blink invitingly in the windows, enticing passerbys to stop inside, and Yeojin knows she’s hit the jackpot as her eyes wander up to the sign hanging proudly above the door.

“_Unnie_!” she exclaims, startling both of them with her volume. She takes a moment to tone down her anxious excitement before continuing, “Look! Let’s go play at the arcade!” Before Yerim can say anything in reply, Yeojin drags her over to the arcade.

Stepping through the automatic sliding glass doors, the girls are immediately greeted with a large open room sectioned off by rows of towering game cabinets. Lit up only by the dim neon lights lining the walls and ceiling, Yeojin can see prize games and gacha machines along one side of the arcade, the typical game cabinets lined up and down the middle of the room, and some Dance Dance Revolution machines in the back. The arcade is surprisingly empty of customers, and the people that are there are clustered together by what looks to be a rhythm game cabinet.

The stars must truly be aligned in Yeojin’s favor. Not only had they stumbled across a cool arcade perfect for a date, it’s also practically empty. _And_, the cherry on top, as they walk up to the counter she realizes instead of paying to play each game, they pay one fee to play unlimited games for a set amount of time.

“You wanna play some games too, right Unnie?” Yeojin says over her shoulder, already pulling money out of her bag to give the attendant. She’s not expecting for Yerim to say no, so she’s a little caught off guard when she feels a firm tug at her sleeve.

“Maybe not today…” she says hesitantly, and that throws Yeojin off. Because Yerim usually doesn’t say no to something like this. Does she not want to hang out with Yeojin? Her concern must show on her face as Yerim explains, “I just want to make sure you get home on time Don’t need your mom thinking I’m a bad influence,”

Yeojin’s mom would probably blame her own daughter for keeping _Yerim_ out too late. She takes a deep breath, sighs, and whines, “Come _ooon_, Unnie! My mom won’t care, and you know it’ll be so much fun!” Yerim still frowns unsurely. Yeojin feels a little mean for doing it, but she pulls her ace card. “You know, I bet Jungeun and Jinsol unnies will be so jealous when they find out you hung out at this cool arcade with me instead of hanging out with them.”

That causes a shift in Yerim’s expression. She’s not fully convinced, but it’s enough for her to relent. Her posture relaxes, and she gives a hesitant nod. “Alright. Just let your mom know you might be home late, okay?”

“Yes Unnie,” Yeojin chirps, quickly sending the text before whirling around to pay the arcade attendant. She gives him enough for them both to play for an hour and he hands them their game cards. “Let’s play Street Fighter first!”

The next half an hour is made up of Yeojin dragging Yerim from console to console, playing games of various genres and generations. As stated, Yeojin starts with Street Fighter, the two girls dueling it out, both evenly matched until Yeojin claims the upper hand and claims victory. Yerim calls for a rematch, and they continue playing until the older girl manages to beat her.

Then, Yeojin pulls them over to some nearby cabinets where they work together to battle waves of enemies as Ninja Turtles—and as Sailor Guardians, at Yerim’s request. The chaos really ramps up when they find the Mario Kart cabinets along the back wall. They focus more on sabotaging each other than winning, cheering loud enough to draw the attention of other patrons and laughing so hard their stomachs cramp.

Yeojin would bet her entire allowance that Chaewon’s date wasn’t anywhere near this much fun.

After their final race ends and Yerim’s team is crowned the winner, she grins at Yeojin. “Okay, now it’s my turn to pick.” She takes Yeojin by the hand, and leading her over to the DDR cabinets on the other side of the arcade—unsurprising in the slightest.

“Can’t we play Project Diva instead?” Yeojin whines, getting into place on the platform beside Yerim.

Yerim glances up from the console screen to pout at the other. “You got to pick all the other games!”

It’s hard to argue against that. Yeojin huffs, though she gives in. “Fine, but I’m only playing a few songs, okay?” She hides her blush as Yerim smiles brightly at her and goes back to picking one of her favorite songs.

At this point, they’ve played the game enough that Yerim tends to pick similar songs, and Yeojin is able to dance along almost by memory alone, even on the higher difficulty. It gives her the opportunity to look over at Yerim and see her dancing along to the song, adding in some of her own moves to match each step. As always, Yerim’s in her own world while she dances, and Yeojin finds herself trying to copy her moves and add her own.

She ends up playing all the songs Yerim wants to play, too wrapped up in the fun. She gives it her all, knowing Yerim is doing the same. By the time she realizes how long they’ve been playing, their time is almost up. Surprised, she stops Yerim before she can pick another song. “Unnie, I want to try the crane games before we run out of time.”

“Oh, sure!” Yerim agrees, stepping off the platform. They walk across the arcade together, arriving at the claw machines and other prize games before Yeojin can find the courage to hold her hand again. Yerim gives her an apologetic look. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to spend so much time on one game.”

Yeojin waves her hands in reassurance. “It’s okay, it was fun,” She quickly scopes out the claw machines, trying to figure out which one has the best prizes. Maybe she can find something to win for Yerim she can have as a memento of their date—like the flowers Chaewon gave her, but better.

It turns out she doesn’t need to worry about it, as Yerim ends up wandering over to one first. “Look at these cute stuffed animals,” she says, getting closer to one machine to peer through the glass. “That penguin reminds me of Jiwoo-unnie, and Vivi-unnie would love that deer!”

“They are really cute,” Yeojin agrees, looking at the different plush animals. Along the top layer of prizes, she spots a plush bat, and she knows she has to get it. “I’m gonna play this one.”

Yerim smiles brightly, “Yes! Go for the white bird that looks like Haseul, or that one that—oh,” She cuts herself off, pointing to one of the stuffed animals. Yeojin glances over, seeing several plushies in the center she could be looking at. She thinks Yerim is pointing to the puppy, but there’s too many to tell.

“Do you like that one?” she asks. Yerim turns, gives her a strange look. “The puppy? I’ll win it for you.”

“Huh?” Yerim blinks, glances back to the glass case. “Oh, no that’s okay.” She flashes a quick smile, but it lacks its usual sincerity. Something is off.

The anxiety of Yerim pulling away again comes back. But Yeojin swallows it down and swipes her game card to play the claw machine. She’ll win the bat plush and it’ll fix everything.

Sticking her tongue out in concentration, Yeojin leans down to be eyelevel with the plushies. Her eyes narrow as she calculates the perfect angle to pick up the bat. As lightly as she can, she carefully inches the claw closer and closer, getting to just the right spot—

Yerim suddenly turns to face her, “Yeojin, do you have a crush on anyone?”

Yeojin’s hand jerks in surprise and the claw swings wildly to the side. “ _What_?” she yelps, eyes wide as she whirls around. The familiar sound of the claw dropping to pick up a prize hardly registers as she stares at Yerim.

The other girl winces, drawing back in unease. “S-sorry. I didn’t—um, forget I asked—,”

“Why would you ask about my crush?” Yeojin says, tittering out a nervous laugh. Her mouth moves faster than her brain as she blurts out, “Do _you_ have a crush, Unnie?”

Yerim’s jaw quickly snaps shut, looking like a deer in headlights as her eyes widen and there’s a noticeable blush high on her cheeks. Sudden realization slams into Yeojin.

“Oh,” she says quietly. “You do have a crush.”

The other girl bites her lip, her head whipping to the side towards the claw machine. Her blush darkens as she wrings her fingers together. “I just… need advice. What do you do when you have a crush?”

At first, cold disappointment spreads through Yeojin. Finding out her crush has a crush is the worst thing she can imagine happening to her, and it’s now unfolding right in the middle of her arcade date. All the effort she spent today is wasted in just a quick moment of panic.

But then, just as quick, an idea crosses her mind, and new hope blooms in her chest.

None of this means Yerim doesn’t have a crush on Yeojin. In fact, it might support her chances. But first, she has to confirm.

Yeojin straightens her back, tries to release the tension in her shoulders as she searches for her confidence. “Well… Who do you like?”

Yerim looks at her in surprise, “Huh?”

She crosses her arms over her chest. “For me to give you good advice, I need to know who you like.”

“Then you tell me who you like,” Yerim challenges, thought it falls flat with how clearly nervous she is. “I asked first.”

“I’m not the one asking for advice,” Yeojin counters. “I can’t tell you unless you tell me, it’s against the rules.”

Yerim frowns, considers, and ultimately backs down. “Never mind… forget I asked, okay?” And with that, Yeojin feels vindicated.

_Yerim likes me_ .

It makes sense in Yeojin’s mind—Yerim is asking for advice from her crush about how to woo her crush. After all, who would give better advice about how to woo Yeojin than Yeojin herself? It’s such a cliché, but Yeojin finds it adorable.

Well, in that case, Yeojin is more than happy to give her advice.

“Well, Unnie,” Yeojin says, her voice considerably softer now. “I think you should tell your crush how you feel. Make it romantic, though, you want to have the right mood for the occasion. Oh, and maybe get them some gifts to clue them in, y’know?” _Speaking of_… she turns around and grabs the prize she won out of the machine. It isn’t the bat she was aiming for, instead it’s a little orange frog with a glittery crown. She’s lucky she won anything after her break in focus, and it’s still pretty cute. She presents it to Yerim with a smile. “Like this.”

Yerim smiles softly, the tensions melting from her frame as she smiles and takes the frog. “Thank you, Yeojinnie,” she murmurs.

“Anything for you,” she chirps, a sense of victory filling her as she links arms with Yerim—the place she’s meant to be. “I think our game cards are up. Will you still walk me home?”

“Of course,” Yerim nods, tucking the frog carefully into her bag as they walk out of the arcade and into the warm evening air outside.

Yeojin can’t wait to tell the other girls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hyerim chapter next! and then it'll get even more chaotic lol  
who do you think choerry's crush is? is yeojin right or just consoling herself lol? i'm genuinely curious if anyone will guess it  
i hope this chapter was fun! i also hope the next one doesn't take as long :')


	7. willing to get closer...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i say this every time but: sorry this took so long :( school has left me with little time to write, but i try my best :')  
finally back to hyejoo's chapter! i hope you enjoy it :)  
chapter title is from yves' new

When Yeojin demands they all meet up under the assertion that she has “important news” Hyejoo knows she’s not going to like it. She’s sure none of them want to go, but when Hyejoo enters their usual meeting place, she nonetheless sees Chaewon and Hyunjin with Yeojin and Heejin. They exchange brief greetings, hardly sparing any pleasantries anymore. There isn’t a point and they all know it. Yeojin is quick to get to the point, and everyone regrets showing up the moment she first opens her mouth. 

Her excited grin contradicts her words as she announces, “Yerim-unnie has a _crush_!” 

The statement is enough to make Hyejoo’s heart skip a beat. Yerim has a crush? And she told _Yeojin_ before she told her best friend? 

It’s dumb to be affected by anything the girls are saying, and she’s been doing her best not to think about it, but this is different. Best friends are supposed to share their crushes—well, as long as they’re crushing on someone else. 

The already silent group of girls gathered around Yeojin somehow goes even quieter. No one can find the excitement or humor in the fact of Yerim having a crush—no one but Heejin, anyway, who laughs out loud. “So that means the game’s over now?” 

“Um,” Yeojin’s confidence falters slightly, her lips pressing together in a tight line. “Not exactly,” she admits. “She didn’t say _who_ she has a crush on, but I can pretty much guarantee who it is.” 

Chaewon raises a curious eyebrow, the mood a bit lighter now. “Oh yeah?” she presses, challenging. “Then who is it? Who is Yerimmie crushing on?” 

“Well of course it’s me,” Yeojin says with a confident grin, as if it’s the most obvious thing, but it falls into a pout when the other girls all scoff and roll their eyes. “Hear me out!” 

“Okay,” Heejin laughs, “Convince us.” 

Yeojin sticks her tongue out at her meanly. “Besides the _obvious_ reasons, like that I’m definitely her favorite,” she starts, pushing through the various protests at her claim, “_Yerim_-unnie was the one to initiate our date yesterday. _In fact_,” she adds as she sees the other girls rolling their eyes again already, “She even skipped practice for it!” 

The other girls still don’t seem impressed, but Hyejoo is more and more disturbed. Yerim skipped practice? That’s almost unheard of. Something must have happened—Yerim wouldn’t skip dance practice for anything, and especially not for a _date_. 

But she’d seemed fine at school… Is Yeojin lying? 

“Then what did you do on your date?” Hyejoo speaks up for the first time, trying to keep her tone dry and disinterested, but she can’t keep her voice completely even. Chaewon’s eyes glance over to meet Hyejoo’s, clearly catching that something is off. 

Yeojin tosses her hair over her shoulder, looking too proud of herself. “We went to a cool arcade—way cooler than some lame flower café.” It’s clearly a jab at Chaewon, but the other girl doesn’t react at all. Even if it did affect her, Hyejoo knows Chaewon would keep that to herself. Chaewon isn’t that simple. 

“And what? You just played games all day?” Hyunjin asks. 

The youngest glares back, clearly fed up with being underestimated. “Yeah, and? We had the best day ever, we shared slushees and played all her favorite games—I even won her a prize!” 

“But it was just a normal day for her,” Chaewon points out, shrugging casually. “What makes you think she even considered it a date?” 

Yeojin huffs out a sharp, annoyed breath as her hands clench into tight fists at her sides. “Maybe because she _said_ it was one?” 

The other girl leans forward on her elbows, raising her eyebrows in an expectant look. The innocent curiosity on her face belies the trap she’s laid. “Tell me what she said, word for word.” 

And that’s all it takes to make Yeojin snap. “Why am I getting picked on like this?” she demands, finally cracking under the pressure Chaewon steadily put on her. “Why is it so hard for you to believe Yerim likes me?” 

“Because you’re not her type,” Hyunjin says coolly, taking a sip of her coffee and effectively freezing the conversation in its tracks. 

All of the girls move in near unison to look at her. Varying degrees of shocked expressions are thrown towards Hyunjin, sudden concern rippling through the group. _Yerim’s type_. Somehow even Hyejoo hadn’t thought of that—and even more puzzling, somehow Hyejoo didn’t _know_ . 

Yerim’s type… How could she not know her own best friend’s type? 

“You know her type?” Heejin asks, the only one functioning enough to speak. 

Red embarrassment creeps up Hyunjin’s neck in response to the sudden spotlight placed on her. “I… might have some inside information,” she mumbles. 

“’Inside information’?” Yeojin repeats skeptically. She rolls her eyes exaggeratedly, nudging Hyejoo sitting next to her. “Sounds fake, am I right?” Hyejoo doesn’t even look at her. 

She also goes ignored by Chaewon, who appeals instead to the nervous girl beside her. “And who would this inside source be, exactly?” 

Hyunjin shrugs, sighs, “Jinsol kind of cornered me about my crush, and she got herself and Jungeun involved. They’ve been giving me advice sometimes…” 

“That’s cheating!” Yeojin yells, bolting upright from her chair to her feet faster than lightning striking the ground. She points an accusatory finger at the soccer player, who sinks low in her seat as other patrons quickly glance over at the commotion. 

“Calm down,” Heejin hisses, yanking the youngest girl down into her seat. Her former humorous disposition is lost, replaced by sudden annoyance. _Odd_, Hyejoo thinks. This reaction seems atypical for her. Heejin had been so easygoing this entire time until now. Hyejoo wonders what changed that. 

Either oblivious or uncaring to the attention she’d drawn, Yeojin whines, “But she cheated! Right? It’s no fair that she gets help!” 

Seemingly also annoyed, Chaewon begrudgingly admits, “We didn’t make a rule about that… I didn’t even think about telling anyone else.” 

“It wasn’t my choice,” Hyunjin grumbles, refusing to look at anyone. “Believe me, I wish it never happened. Jinsol wouldn’t leave me alone until I admitted it. And now she won’t stop bothering me.” 

“Well you could make her advice useful and clue us in on Yerim’s type,” Chaewon huffs. “We can go ahead and weed out the girls who don’t make the cut.” 

As embarrassing as it is to admit, Hyejoo’s heart skips a beat at the suggestion. It would definitely be an advantage to know Yerim’s type. Knowing any of her romantic preferences would make this easier. She isn’t sure she’s ready to know, though. Although Yerim never seemed like the kind of person to adhere strictly to a type, Hyejoo isn’t sure what she’ll do if she finds out she isn’t Yerim’s type. 

But Chaewon is right—knowing her type is a helpful way to narrow down who Yerim’s crush could be. 

Hyunjin considers it for a moment, like she has an option, but one look at Chaewon confirms no one is going anywhere until she answers. She sighs, loud and tired. “If you’re really sure you want to know,” she starts, but it’s useless to ask when all the girls are on the edge of their seats waiting for her answer. “Jinsol told me that Yerim likes older girls.” 

Oh. 

The girls around the table all go very quiet. 

Oh _no_. 

This is so much worse than Hyejoo could have guessed. 

“Like, _older_ girls, or just girls older than her?” Heejin asks for clarification, ignoring the shock rippling through the group. 

“Just older than her,” Hyunjin mumbles. “Maybe someone a little more mature than her,” 

It’s so vague, but in this moment it feels a little damning. She isn’t much younger than Yerim, but if it’s important enough to be her only criteria for her type, it must matter to her. And Hyejoo can do nothing to change the fact she was born after Yerim. 

Chaewon is the first to get over her surprise, smirking in a way that’s annoyingly self-satisfied. “Well clearly that means she likes me best,” she boasts, “If Yerim has a crush on any of us, it has to be me!” 

Hyunjin’s nose wrinkles in irritation. “I’m older than you, though,” 

“But I’m _definitely_ the most mature,” she says. “Plus, I’m the only one who’s taken Yerim out on a date, right?” 

“Uh, I just talked about _my_ date with Yerim?” Yeojin points out. “Do you have to keep invalidating me? Just because Yerim-unnie likes older girls, that doesn’t mean she can’t like me!” 

“Maybe you should give up,” Heejin suggests offhandedly. “Face it, do you really think Yerim will see you as anything but her little sister?” Hurt flashes in Yeojin’s eyes, and surprisingly she doesn’t argue. Heejin glances around the table, “In fact, maybe all of you should give up.” 

That throws everyone off, all the other girls looking at her questioningly. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Hyunjin asks. 

Heejin shrugs. “Yerim doesn’t really seem like she has a crush on any of you. And if she has a crush on someone else, is she even going to notice you?” 

Yeojin flinches hard at that remark. Hyejoo finds she has a hard time keeping herself together as well. 

As much as she can’t stand to admit it, Heejin has a point. If Yerim is crushing on someone outside of the group, it’s possible she won’t be able to see anyone else’s advances. _Unless_… 

Unless Hyejoo tries something bold. 

She hadn’t wanted to get involved. Even if Hyejoo was the one to suggest it, she knows Yerim deserves better than this dumb game. But Hyejoo can’t risk losing her. And staying here isn’t going to help anything. 

Hyejoo stands from the table, ignoring the look the other girls give her. Wordlessly, she gathers her stuff and prepares to leave. Before she can go anywhere, a hand reaches over to lightly grasp her own. Hyejoo glances up to meet Chaewon’s eyes. For the first time since this game started, her expression is soft with worry. “Are you okay?” 

Seeing Chaewon offer her concern like this is the only time Hyejoo has felt normal in the past two weeks. Somehow, it makes it easier to breathe. She relaxes, not realizing how tense she’d even become. Unfortunately, it can’t last long. 

“Yeah,” she answers as she gently pulls her hand away. “I just gotta go think about some things.” 

“Don’t let this bother you, Unnie!” Yeojin encourages. “Age doesn’t matter!” 

Hyejoo sighs. Having Yeojin on her side somehow makes her feel worse. “Yeah. I’ll see you guys later.” She gives a weak wave and walks out of the café. She doesn’t bother to turn back, unable to look at the chaos she’s created any longer. This was such a big mistake—but now she’s feeling like she has no choice but to take it more seriously. 

As she walks down the street towards her home, she flips her phone out of her pocket. She’s got an idea, but it’s so, so desperate. In fact, it’s embarrassingly desperate. _But, if Hyunjin can stoop so low_… Maybe it’s okay if Hyejoo does the same. 

She scrolls through her contacts and taps on the one she’s looking for, nervous energy thrumming through her. Why is she so nervous? This is ridiculous, she’s just asking a friend for a favor. She finds the contact she wants, but her finger hovers unsurely over the call button. There’s nothing wrong with asking for help, she tries to convince herself, but somehow it feels a little too shameless in this situation. 

No, she shouldn’t do this. It’s too embarrassing, and anyway she should be able to do this without help. Right, it’s fine, she’s fine. Everything is going to work out. 

It’s right when she’s calmed herself down that she hears the dial tone of her phone. Horrified, she realizes she’s accidentally hit the call button. _Shit_. She scrambles to hang up the call, firmly pressing the end call button. That was too close, she thinks with a breath of relief—until her phone starts ringing again. 

“Dammit,” she mutters, then accepts the call. “Hello?” 

“Hyejoo-yah!” The younger girl flinches at the loud voice yelling over the speaker, turning down the volume. “It’s been so long! What’s up?” 

“S-sorry, Jiwoo-unnie,” she says, clearing her throat. “Um, I didn’t mean to call you. Sorry.” 

There’s silence for a bit, but it never lasts long with Jiwoo. “You sound nervous,” she says, startlingly observant. “What’s wrong? Do you need help?” 

Hyejoo clenches her jaw. “Am I that obvious?” 

“You just sound like you usually do when you’re too embarrassed to ask for help,” Jiwoo teases. “So, what do you need?” 

This is it, the point of no return. Hyejoo sighs—it’s already too late. “I need advice,” she mutters, embarrassed heat flaring up in her cheeks. “With… flirting.” 

Jiwoo _squeals_, loud enough that Hyejoo has to pull the phone away from her ear. “Hyejoo’s got a crush! I never thought I’d live to see the day you admit you have a crush!” 

Hyejoo scoffs, “So you thought I’d just stay single forever?” 

“No, I just thought someday you’d show up with a girlfriend without ever telling us you liked someone,” Jiwoo laughs. “But this is so exciting! Who is it?” 

“It’s not your business,” She can’t bring herself to say it out loud—enough people already know. 

She can imagine Jiwoo deflating in her seat as she lets out a drawn out, “ _Aww_, but you asked me for help! I can’t help you flirt if I don’t know what your crush is like. I can’t give you the best advice if I don’t know what would work best, you know?” 

Hyejoo sucks in a deep breath. Maybe Jiwoo is right, but she’s still reluctant. “Just… tell me how you’d like someone to flirt with you. That should be good enough.” 

There’s a brief pause, just enough for Hyejoo to think she’s in the clear, and then Jiwoo quietly says, “It’s Yerimmie, isn’t it?” 

That’s enough to make Hyejoo freeze in her tracks, unable to form any sort of protest. How is she so obvious that even Jiwoo can tell? She doesn’t think she could be any more embarrassed. 

Jiwoo must take her silence as an affirmation, as she cheers happily. “I knew it! Oh, you two are the cutest—of course I’ll help you! I’ve got an idea already, just hold on—,” 

“Never mind!” Hyejoo blurts out, “Forget I said anything, I don’t want any help!” 

“Too late!” Jiwoo singsongs, “I’m texting Yerimmie right now,” 

Hyejoo’s blood runs ice cold. “You _wouldn’t_,” There’s _no way_ Jiwoo would out her so fast. Jiwoo may get overexcited, but she isn’t stupid. 

“Re_lax_,” Jiwoo says, as if waving off her concern. “I’m just gonna give you a live demonstration. And I know the perfect person to help—,” 

“What does _that_ mean?” she snaps, more out of panic than any sort of meanness. 

“It _means_ we’re gonna teach you how to flirt!” she says, and Hyejoo’s heart drops into her stomach. “I know the perfect person for the job, don’t worry. Just go pick up Yerimmie and meet us at the station by your house.” 

Hyejoo hardly has any time to reply before Jiwoo abruptly hangs up, concern and something very close to _fear_ churning in her stomach. There’s still time to say no, right? Hyejoo doesn’t have to do this, _right_ ? 

_But if Yerim’s waiting for me_ … She sighs, defeated. If Yerim is expecting her, it would be mean to ditch her, even if it is Jiwoo’s plan. 

It’s not a long way back to Yerim’s home, for better or worse. Hyejoo gives a halfhearted attempt at thinking up an excuse not to go, but nothing comes to mind. She texts Yerim when she’s outside the apartment door, and through the wall she hears an excited shout of, “Gotta go! I’ll be home in a few hours!” It’s the only warning before Yerim yanks the front door open and Hyejoo is faced with an ecstatic smile brighter than the sun. 

“Hey, Hyejoo,” Yerim says, “Let’s go!” She takes Hyejoo by the hand and pulls her back outside and to the station Hyejoo had just arrived from. All thoughts of trying to escape are pushed to the back of Hyejoo’s mind, quickly replaced by the pleasant sensation of Yerim’s warm hand wrapped around her own. 

_Maybe this won’t be so bad_ … 

(She speaks too soon.) 

Yerim is leading them into the station, and Hyejoo pulls her back. “Don’t get too excited. We’re supposed to meet Jiwoo here.” 

“Hmm?” Yerim gives her an odd look. “That’s not what Jiwoo-unnie told me.” 

Hyejoo gives her a sharp look, “What did Jiwoo tell you?” 

Yerim’s smile turns mischievous. “If Unnie didn’t tell you, then I’m going to leave it as a surprise.” 

She laughs at as Hyejoo frowns, tugging her along again into the station as the younger girl sighs, “Seriously, Yerim…” 

They move through the station and onto the subway, managing to find two seats together despite the busy rush hour. Even once they’ve boarded, Yerim doesn’t tell Hyejoo where they’re going. She doesn’t even say which station they’re going to get off at, and Hyejoo hopes she knows where she’s going. The ride is quiet, with Yerim tucking her head against Hyejoo’s shoulder like the way she’s done since they first started riding the subway alone together. At least some things don’t change, Hyejoo thinks as she shifts to give Yerim a more comfortable position. 

They don’t stay on the subway for long, and Yerim alerts Hyejoo to their stop by abruptly sitting upright at the call for their station. “Get ready,” she says, as if Hyejoo needed the warning. The train stops, and Yerim pulls Hyejoo into the station as quickly as she can. 

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going _now_?” she asks as they walk out onto the street. As she surveys their surroundings, she finds she does recognize where they are. They’ve exited the station closest to where Jiwoo and Sooyoung live, which is a part of Seoul Hyejoo hasn’t seen much of. No one has given her so much as a hint of what they’re doing today, and she’s worried. 

But Yerim turns and gives her an amused smirk, and Hyejoo already knows she’s fighting a losing battle. “I told you, it’s a surprise,” she says, clearly taking pride in the frustrated noise that Hyejoo involuntarily makes. Yerim takes one of Hyejoo’s hands and squeezes it tightly. “Come on, just trust me. I promise you’ll have fun, okay?” 

How can Hyejoo say no to that? Reluctantly, she sighs in defeat. “Alright. Lead the way,” 

Yerim smiles brightly, and they’re on their way again. They keep walking for another few minutes, until Yerim suddenly stops and announces, “Here we are!” Hyejoo looks over to where she’s gesturing, and her stomach sinks. She hasn’t gone skating in years, long enough she isn’t sure she even remembers how to skate. _Fun_. 

They walk inside into the small entrance area, walking up to one of the ticket machines and each paying for their own ticket. “You think two hours is enough?” Yerim asks as she selects her ticket. 

“I can’t imagine being here any longer,” Hyejoo answers bluntly. 

After buying their tickets, the pair walk through the sliding door into the seating area of the roller rink. The entrance by the skates rental counter is the only part of the rink clearly lit, all other areas bathed in blue lights with rainbow fairy lights hung up and down the ceiling with bright neon blue lights lining the overhang around the rink. Glancing over at the rink itself, Hyejoo sees laser lights of different colors flash against the white laminate flooring and a disco ball spinning above the skaters. Yerim leads Hyejoo aside to one of the plastic benches by the skates rental counter, peering over the people around them in search of Jiwoo. 

“I think I see them over there,” she says, rising up on her tip toes and waving her arms high. Hyejoo looks over at where she seems to be gesturing, and she finds Jiwoo by the edge of the rink facing towards them. Yerim seems to have caught her attention as she waves back in their direction and turns to try and get someone else’s attention. 

Right, her mystery helper for today. 

She looks for a familiar face among the crowd, unsurprised to spot Sooyoung. Of course, now she gets it. Jiwoo’s plan is to flirt with Sooyoung for Hyejoo to learn from. As gross as that will be, Hyejoo can handle that. Maybe if she ignores them enough, her and Yerim will even have fun. 

She’s so sadly, awfully, horribly wrong. 

“Hi Unnie!” Yerim calls as the pair gets within earshot. 

Jiwoo waves at them with a beaming smile as she joins them, Hyejoo offering a small wave in return. But Sooyoung skates right up to Yerim, towering over her with the added height from the skates. “Hey, Yerim-ah, long time no see,” 

“I know, way too long!” Yerim agrees, “I’m so glad Jiwoo-unnie invited us,” 

Sooyoung smiles, soft and amused, and something about it has Hyejoo’s stomach churning. She offers her hand towards the younger girl. “Want me to help you get your skates?” 

She grins, “Yeah, let’s go!” She takes Sooyoung’s hand and lets herself be led off to the rental counter. 

Hyejoo can’t help the way her stomach sinks as she watches them with a frown. A giggle comes from beside her, and she turns to see Jiwoo grinning smugly at her. “What?” 

Jiwoo leans in closer, cupping a hand around her mouth as if she’s preparing to tell a secret, and says, “Surprise! You’ll have to fight Sooyoungie for Yerimmie’s attention,” she teases, and Hyejoo can only stare at her in helpless shock. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> another two-parter!! hope you had as much fun reading this as i did writing it :') it's one of my favorite chapters so far i think...  
i'm sure things with yves will go well, and hyejoo definitely won't get jealous or anything... lol  
please let me know what you think!! i'd especially love feedback on this chapter :D  
thank you for reading <3 also i have a [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/lunarchoerry) now if you'd like to reach out there :)

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! please let me know your thoughts, or if you'd like to see any other choerry pairings get involved lol.  
find me on twitter [@lunarchoerry](https://twitter.com/lunarchoerry) and talk to me about loona and choerry <3


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